A new report has been released on the personal and economic costs of sight loss in the UK.
The eye research charity Fight for Sight’s research report, ‘Time to Focus’, is published today (16 September) on the charity’s website.
It explains that sight loss costs the economy 25.2bn UK pounds every year, a figure which may rise to 33.5bn by 2050 if the prevalence of eye conditions continues to rise.
Over two million people in the UK are currently living with sight loss, more than half of which the charity believes is avoidable.
The authors reviewed more than 350 academic papers and created a new costing model which demonstrates that lowering the rate by 1% could save up to 9.5bn UK pounds by 2050.
The charity has made this tool accessible to governments and health providers. They are calling for urgent investment in “woefully underfunded” eye research alongside a holistic approach by commissioners.
Chief executive, Sherine Krause, says: “This landmark report puts sight loss in the UK into focus and shows the huge financial, social and emotional cost it is having on individuals and society. But the true cost of sight loss is a personal one that can’t be measured in pounds and pence.
“Science offers so many possibilities to transform lives and there are breakthroughs happening every day. Eye research is more important than ever in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit and our report shows how investing in research upfront will actually make huge savings for the NHS and for the wider economy in the longer term.”
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