The potential impact of a National Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Programme on a department of medical illustration

Abstract

Diabetic retinopathy screening programmes in the UK vary tremendously in quality, methods used, and frequency of screening. Indeed, many areas have no local screening service at all. The United Kingdom National Screening Committee has compiled and published a series of recommendations for a national risk reduction programme for diabetic retinopathy based on a screening programme. This paper will examine the primary recommendations of the committee and use the diabetic retinopathy screening programme currently running at Brighton Health Care NHS Trust as a model to demonstrate the potential impact the recommendations may have on an established programme. This will also give some indication of the resources required for any department not currently running a service.