Fink A, Wright L, Wormald R
Western Eye Hospital, London.
Br J Gen Pract. 1994 Dec;44(389):587-9.
An ageing population, the introduction of sight test charges and a problem that has never been adequately addressed since the inception of the National Health Service presents general practitioners with the increasing burden of detecting and preventing visual failure which they feel poorly equipped to deal with. Ophthalmology in general practice is a fundamental requirement for the reduction of avoidable visual failure and this is probably especially true for elderly patients and diabetic patients. A postal survey of general practitioners in Brent and Harrow suggests that there is potential for major improvements in the delivery of eye care by general practitioners, often without much additional expenditure (the equipment is there but it is not used) and with minimal training requirements. Simple changes in already existing screening programmes could potentially have an immediate effect on the visual well-being of the community.
人口老龄化、视力检查收费的实施，以及自国民医疗服务体系建立以来一直未得到充分解决的一个问题，给全科医生带来了越来越大的负担，即检测和预防视力衰退，而他们觉得自己应对这一问题的能力不足。全科医疗中的眼科检查是减少可避免的视力衰退的一项基本要求，这对于老年患者和糖尿病患者可能尤为如此。对布伦特和哈罗的全科医生进行的一项邮寄调查表明，全科医生在提供眼部护理方面有很大的改进潜力，通常无需太多额外支出（设备已有但未使用），且培训要求极低。对现有筛查项目进行简单改变可能会立即对社区居民的视力健康产生影响。
