Campaigns

Don't stop the drops!

Summary: Thousands of people with glaucoma are losing their sight as a result of not taking their medication.

• Background
• Campaign report
• Call for action
• Further information
• Useful links

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"Don't stop the drops" is our latest message to people diagnosed with glaucoma. Don't become one of the thousands of people needlessly losing their sight because they are not continuing with their treatment.

Background

In the summer of 2005 RNIB organised a tour of the UK visiting shopping centres with an innovative stand to raise awareness of the importance of early detection. These visits were combined with a series of professional meetings to discuss ways forward in glaucoma care. Since then we have followed developments with the pilots for new glaucoma pathways in Exeter, Walthamstow, Birmingham and Brighton and are organising the "Delivering the Vision" conference in York on 17/18 January 2007 that will report on the outcome of these pilots.

The ongoing discussions about new pathways clearly show that improvements in glaucoma care remain an issue. An important aspect of this is the extent to which changes to the current pathways not only improve care for people with glaucoma but also increase the likelihood of glaucoma being detected early. Early detection is the key to preventing unnecessary sight loss, a vital part of RNIB's mission.

Campaign report

A new RNIB report 'Don't blame the patient' launched on 16 January 2007 states that more than 200,000 people in the UK have needlessly lost their sight to glaucoma - a condition with no symptoms in the early stages that requires patients to take eye drops for the rest of their lives to avoid losing their sight.

The report gives three main reasons why people continue to lose their sight from this treatable condition:

• problems with following prescribed treatment regimes.
• stopping treatment altogether
• failure to detect glaucoma early, especially in African/African Caribbean communities who are at a much higher risk of developing glaucoma.

RNIB's message to people with glaucoma is simply 'don't stop the drops!' and for everyone else it is to have regular eye tests. It is also important for everyone working in glaucoma care to make sure their patients are fully aware of the importance of sticking to their treatments.

Call for action

Glaucoma is a complex issue and there is increasing recognition that those involved in glaucoma care need to work in equal partnership with patients to improve treatment regimes. Initiatives to tackle the barriers to compliance range from the distribution of devices to help patients administer their drops to education programmes and electronic reminders to take drops at the appropriate times.

RNIB are calling for joint action from the Government and all stakeholders such as eye care professionals, pharmaceutical companies and patient organisations to form a UK wide alliance to eliminate unnecessary sight loss from glaucoma.

• We call on stakeholders in glaucoma care to put compliance at the heart of the implementation of new pathways and shared care schemes.
• We call on the Government to fund a pilot to identify a successful strategy for addressing all barriers to compliance.
• We call on stakeholders in glaucoma care to form a UK wide alliance to address not only compliance but also early detection and other problem areas.

Further information

A full copy of 'Don't blame the patient' is available to download

• 'Don't blame the patient' (Word)
• 'Don't blame the patient' (PDF)

Useful links

• Information about RNIB's major glaucoma awareness campaign.
• Information on understanding glaucoma.
• Getting an eye test.

Content author: campaign@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 06/03/2008 15:41