Eyesight: Testing
(asked on 1st May 2018) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many free sight tests were provided on the NHS to people aged (a) under and (b) 60 years old and over in England in each of the last five years.
The numbers of National Health Service sight tests recorded as provided on the grounds the patient is aged 60 and over are set out in the following table.
| 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 |
Aged 60 and over | 5,480,711 | 5,576,957 | 5,507,932 | 5,651,025 | 6,262,242 |
All NHS sight tests provided in England are free at the point of delivery. NHS Digital publishes regular information on the number of NHS sight tests provided broken down by eligibility criteria. The latest available data are for the reporting period 2016-17. All those aged 60 or over are eligible for an NHS sight test.
These data are published as part of the General Ophthalmic Services activity statistics - England, year ending 31 March 2017 release, which is available at the following link: