Londoners ‘put their sight at risk by skipping regular checks’

Thousands of Londoners are at risk of losing their sight, experts at Moorfields Eye Hospital are warning.

Genetic conditions, cataracts and diabetes which can lead to blindness are going undetected as people fail to have their sight checked regularly.

Eye doctor Yusrah Shweikh recently treated a London professional at Moorfields Hospital who had noticed she could no longer read at work. She discovered she was suffering from an inherited disease called glaucoma.

Dr Shweikh said: “Her eye pressure was three times greater than the normal and the nerves connecting her eyes to her brain were 80 to 90 per cent damaged.”

If the condition had been caught early one eye drop a day could have saved the patient’s sight.

If the trend continues, cases of avoidable blindness will double by 2050.

Ethnic minorities are particularly at risk, with glaucoma rates higher in Afro-Caribbean communities and high rates of diabetes in Asian families.

Moorfields Hospital launches its Eye Heroes campaign today, using workshops in London schools to spread the word that regular eye checks are essential. The project has been funded by Moorfields Eye Charity.