Opening eyes to good eye care in Barnsley
Why should you get your eyes tested? Do you have problems with your sight? How can you keep your eyes healthy? All of these questions and many more were answered in Barnsley during National Eye Health Week.
As part of National Eye Health Week, which ran from 17th -23rd September, the Trust and Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council (BMBC) invited people in and around Barnsley to learn more about the importance of eye health and where they can go to get help for visual impairments or other eye related concerns.
National Eye Health Week (NEHW) is an annual awareness week that brings together eyecare charities,organisations and health professionals from across the UK to raise awareness of the importance of good eye health and the need for regular sight tests for all. Research has found that sight loss is even more feared than cancer, AIDS, stroke, heart disease or diabetes. Yet many people are still unaware of the simple steps they can take to look after our eyes. Currently 1.8 million people in the UK are living with sight loss, but for 53% of these, a simple sight test and new spectacles could really help.
NEHW provides a unique opportunity for the ophthalmic community to come together to promote powerful eyecare messages and encourage more people to take positive steps to protect their sight – actions that will ultimately improve the nation’s eye health and contribute towards a reduction in avoidable sight loss.
The Trust and BMBC joined forces with leading eyecare organisations including Action for Blind People, Guide Dogs and Barnsley opticians to hold an eye health information event in Barnsley town centre on. There was lots of information stalls run by local eye health specialists where local people could get information and advice about the best way to look after their eyes and the importance of getting an eye test.
Moira Alton, a senior rehabilitation officer with the sensory impairment service said, “Sight is the sense people fear losing the most, yet many of us don’t know the best way to look after our eyes. It is important to care for our eyes and to have a regular eye test as many eye conditions can be diagnosed. The earlier things like cataracts, Glaucoma and Macular degeneration are spotted the better the chance of effective treatment. As part of the eye health event we provided local information with all the help and advice people need about looking after their eyes.”
