From 1 April 1999, eligibility for an NHS sight test was extended to everyone aged 60 or over.
The following tables show the number of NHS sight tests, by patient eligibility, in England between 1996-97 and 2007-08.
Patients aged 60 and over may qualify for an NHS sight test on more than one criterion (i.e. age, low income or having glaucoma or diabetes). However, they would only be recorded against one criterion on the form. Patients are more likely to be recorded according to their clinical need rather than their age. For example, a patient aged over 60 with glaucoma is likely to be recorded in the glaucoma category only. For these reasons the count by eligibility is therefore approximate. Patients may also have had more than one sight test over the 10-year period.
In 2007-08, over 11 million NHS sight tests were provided in total, an increase of 58 per cent. compared to the total of seven million sight tests in 1998-99, the last year before eligibility was extended to everyone aged 60 and over.
1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 Aged 60 and over 0 0 0 3,301,412 3,753,315 4,012,946 Children 0-15 2,353,696 2,385,520 2,458,944 2,425,666 2,404,037 2,374,943 Students 16-18 515,321 507,983 477,013 468,221 454,319 487,882 Adults receiving income support 1,905,505 1,975,057 1,781,740 1,359,767 1,158,854 1,082,048 Adults receiving tax credits 358,073 335,711 341,887 328,471 360,033 450,475 Adults receiving JSA 28,983 66,068 176,562 219,654 211,827 230,050 Low income certificate holders (HC2) 331,134 316,700 301,784 226,694 189,899 164,262 Registered blind/partially sighted 36,380 40,810 40,914 21,783 19,604 18,948 Diabetics/Glaucoma sufferers 604,841 644,345 685,107 469,375 451,601 432,819 Need complex lenses 84,409 86,276 80,498 66,029 67,462 61,129 Close relatives 40 and over of Glaucoma sufferers 589,347 632,740 647,857 512,341 496,182 491,898 Unallocated 22 45 28 0 0 0 Total 6,807,711 6,991,255 6,992,334 9,399,416 9,567,135 9,807,403
2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Aged 60 and over 4,135,615 4,308,889 4,303,128 4,450,007 4,518,672 4,860,912 Children 0-15 2,284,368 2,236,329 2,206,853 2,168,542 2,113,479 2,299,159 Students 16-18 468,735 456,614 463,568 467,487 490,762 507,918 Adults receiving income support 963,281 953,325 1,091,019 1,085,424 1,170,055 1,119,650 Adults receiving tax credits 412,478 474,541 528,409 538,779 569,833 660,736 Adults receiving JSA 207,703 201,487 195,783 218,689 236,126 225,782 Low income certificate holders (HC2) 166,784 149,033 152,534 142,796 133,580 127,542 Registered blind/partially sighted 17,850 19,834 22,227 22,304 28,431 18,764 Diabetics/Glaucoma sufferers 448,147 474,385 589,465 646,628 597,773 591,954 Need complex lenses 66,268 71,418 72,312 70,295 86,816 82,476 Close relatives 40 and over of Glaucoma sufferers 490,820 499,404 523,680 543,605 539,345 552,997 Unallocated 0 0 0 122 50 0 Total 9,662,052 9,845,259 10,148,978 10,354,682 10,484,922 11,047,890 Notes: 1. The figures for income support and tax credits have been revised for 2005-06 to reflect incorrect coding. 2. From 1 April 1999, eligibility for an NHS sight test was extended to everyone aged 60 or over. 3. Patients may qualify for an NHS sight test on more than one criterion. However, they would only be recorded against one criterion on the form. Patients are more likely to be recorded according to their clinical need rather than their age. For example, a patient aged over 60 with glaucoma is likely to be recorded in the glaucoma category only. The count by eligibility is therefore approximate. 4. Information for family credit is included within ‘Adults receiving tax credits’ for 1997-98 to 2002-03 and within ‘Adults receiving income support’ for later years. 5. Totals may not equal the sum of component parts due to rounding. Source: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care