Eye Pod raises awareness of eye health for NI shoppers

TO MARK National Eye Health Week (24 – 30 September), an interactive sight loss simulator called the Eye Pod, will visit Belfast Specsavers stores at Victoria Square and Park Centre on 24th and 25th September, to educate the public about the importance of eye health and regular eye tests. This comes in light of research published by charity, Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and Specsavers that reveals one in five people will live with sight loss in their lifetime despite half of all cases being preventable.

The alarming statistics show that 300 people in the UK start living with sight loss every day. Women are at greater risk than men, with nearly one in four women set to develop sight loss in their lifetime compared with one in eight men.

More than six million people in the UK currently live with sight-threatening conditions or uncorrected refractive error, yet 25% of people are not having an eye test every two years, as recommended by the College of Optometrists. The extent of the problem means that nearly every family in Britain is touched by sight problems in some way.

The Specsavers/RNIB Eye Pod will demonstrate how the four main eye conditions (Age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and cataracts) can affect your sight. The trailer has two cameras on top of the pod which link to screens inside where the public can view their surroundings with symptoms of each condition. In each case the experience lasts around one minute, with key facts and statistics about the condition then appearing on the screen. Experts will be on hand throughout the day to offer sight loss advice and free eye test vouchers. 

Sinead Donnelly, director of Specsavers Victoria Square says: ‘It’s astonishing that so many people are needlessly living with sight loss in the UK today. Nearly half of all sight loss cases are preventable and a simple eye test can unearth a number of serious health conditions. Our mission with RNIB is to transform the nation’s eye health through awareness and action; this is an enormous challenge but we must rise to it together and take action now.’

The Eye Pod will tour the country including Newtownabbey, Larne and Omagh to raise awareness and funds in support of RNIB.  Specsavers began a partnership with RNIB in 2016 with the mission of transforming eye health and communicating the vital importance of regular eye examinations, not just for eye sight but also to detect sight and life-threatening conditions.

RNIB spokesperson Kirsty Campbell says: ‘The eye care crisis looks set to deepen and the cost burden is destined to soar unless urgent action is taken. Better public take-up of routine eye tests, earlier diagnosis, timely intervention, management and treatment of eye conditions can help to save sight as well as alleviating the burden on the NHS and the public purse.’

For further information on eye health visit https://www.specsavers.co.uk/eye-health