Low vision aids--is our service cost effective?

A questionnaire and telephone survey was carried out on a Scottish population of patients with impaired vision, in order to ascertain the proportion of patients who gain benefit from Low Vision Aids (LVA) and to determine the number of LVAs which are retained but unused. One third of the patients who answered the questionnaire never use their LVAs, and one half were not satisfied with the service provided. A cost analysis indicated that approximately (pounds) 8,000 worth of LVAs are neither used nor returned each year to a single LVA service. The patients' ages, diagnoses, and visual acuities were related to the compliance rate. It appears that increasing age and decreasing visual acuity may be factors which decrease compliance. However none of the factors analysed could be used as a reliable predictor of patient satisfaction or of eventual benefit. Other health services which provide intensive training in the use of LVAs reportedly achieve a higher level of compliance. We conclude that our present service could probably be improved by the employment of additional staff specifically trained to teach patients how to make best use of the LVAs provided.