Press Release issued: 19 March 2012.
Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon will visit a pioneering project in South Glasgow today that is working to highlight the vital importance of eye examinations to Glasgow's Pakistani community.
People from South-East Asian backgrounds are six times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, for instance, the leading cause of blindness amongst working-age Scots. Yet, worryingly, many of the groups most at risk are not regularly accessing eye-care services, even though eye examinations are free in Scotland.
Ms Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow Southside, will meet a network of trained bilingual volunteers, recruited by the project to offer basic eye health screening and encourage regular attendance at eye care services. She will also meet local business owners and imams who will act as 'community champions' to promote eye health and host screening sessions on their premises.
Ms Sturgeon said: "This project is a perfect example of the Scottish Government, Greater Glasgow & Clyde Health Board and RNIB Scotland working together to help improve eye care services in the community. It has highlighted the fact that some serious eye diseases are more prevalent in people of certain ethnic minority backgrounds and, crucially that significant sight loss can be prevented if caught early.
"This project aims to address the health inequalities experienced by certain high risk groups, and to promote access to effective eye care for those most at risk."
The project, managed by sight loss charity RNIB Scotland, will also support health care professionals emphasise to diabetes patients of Pakistani origin the importance of attending both screening services and community optometry appointments.
Diabetic retinopathy is more common in individuals of Pakistani, Indian or Bangladeshi descent, who make up a sizable minority in Glasgow. Someone with diabetes has a 10 to 20 times greater chance of being registered blind. However, early diagnosis and treatment can prevent up to 98 per cent of severe sight loss and the earlier the treatment the more likely it is to be effective. The disease can appear up to 15 years earlier in some ethnic groups leaving people with significant sight loss earlier in life.
Pawan Sood (55), a businessman from Bearsden, knows only too well the importance of getting your eyes checked regularly. Both his parents had glaucoma but he paid less attention to the risks of inheriting it than other members of his family.
"As a result, I'm afraid, I ended up not going to an optician often enough," he says, "despite experiencing headaches which I now know were caused by pressure behind my eye. Luckily, my optician spotted this and referred me on for treatment. I do have quite a bit of optic-nerve loss but they've been able to reduce the pressure quite dramatically and my field of vision has improved. Hopefully, this will prevent any more damage. It gave me a fright and has brought home to me the importance of the work RNIB Scotland is doing. I was lucky. I was treated in time."
Project manager Gozie Joe Adigwe said: "We have worked hard to establish what the issues are and what helps or hinders people's ability to go for frequent eye exams. Through the pilots running over the next year and a half, we will focus on addressing some of these issues. I believe if we can get it right for a housebound 64-year old Pakistani lady, then these low cost interventions will encourage all Scottish communities to take up their eye care entitlements routinely. Working in partnership has been a vital component, sharing good practice across networks and maintaining ownership of the project's outcomes."
Sikander Sidiki, consultant ophthalmologist at Glasgow's Gartnavel Hospital, said: "In the UK, the main method of eye-disease detection is by high street opticians. But many people from ethnic minority backgrounds - particularly immigrants or first generation individuals - may not appreciate this. Many prefer to see their GP or an ophthalmologist, which may result in delay or inappropriate referral. In addition, language may also be a barrier as an interpreter service is less likely to be accessible at an optician."
The project is building on earlier work funded by the Scottish Government to explore the experiences of high-risk groups when using eye care services. A team from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine will formally evaluate the impact of the project, one of five across the UK being funded by RNIB's prevention programme.