 Gower's Assembly Member, Rebecca Evans AM, has pledged her support for National Eye Health Week, which takes place 18 - 24 September 2017. A new report published by the RNIB and high street opticians Specsavers shows that one in five people will live with sight loss in their lifetime despite at least half of all cases being avoidable. Now in its eighth year, National Eye Health Week brings organisations and health professionals from across Wales together to raise awareness of the need for regular sight tests, and how lifestyle habits can affect sight. In Wales, there are 106,980 people living with sight loss which is significant enough to impact their daily lives. This includes people who may not be wearing the right prescription glasses or contact lenses, people waiting for cataract operations, and people living with partial sight or blindness. Approximately 250 people in the UK, including 3 people in Wales, lose their sight every day. Ceri Jackson, Director RNIB Cymru said: “Sight is incredibly precious and we live in an increasingly visual world. It is the sense we fear losing the most yet many of us don’t realise how best to look after our eyes." Rebecca Evans AM said: “Every day in Wales three people lose their sight, but at least 50 per cent of sight loss is avoidable with early detection and treatment. The most important thing people can do to look after their eyes is to go for regular sight tests, but research shows that more than 1 in 10 of us have never had our eyes tested.” Comments are closed.
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