HEALTH bosses in York and North Yorkshire are to get a share of £142,000 to prevent blindness in people suffering from diabetes.
The cash has been allocated to North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire strategic health authority to purchase special digital cameras.
The digital retinopathy cameras will be used to take precise images of the eyes of patients suffering diabetes - the major cause of blindness in adults in the UK.
These images will be compared over time to alert clinicians much earlier to any deterioration in a person's sight, and make early treatment possible.
It is hoped that the national programme, worth £27 million over the next four years, could save 1,000 people from blindness.
The money has been welcomed by the York and District branch of Diabetes UK, which offers support for diabetics through monthly meetings and a helpline.
Chairman Julie Thomas said: "If you can pick up the irregularities in the eyes earlier, then blindness can be prevented through laser treatments.
"It is so important for people with diabetes to have these retinal cameras - this is exactly what we want."
The programme will allow the Government to meet its target, set out in its Diabetes National Service Framework, to provide eye screening services for all people with diabetes by 2007.
Health Minister David Lammy said: "Many thousands of people with diabetes will benefit from enhanced eye tests as this money will ensure that all Primary Care Trusts in England will have the latest state-of-the-art digital cameras.
"This equipment will help the NHS make diabetes related blindness a thing of the past."
Sue Roberts, National Clinical Director for Diabetes, said: "This is a flying start for the NSF. These new investments are the start of real improvements for people with diabetes. That is my overriding aim."
Nationally, Diabetes UK has also been awarded £200,000 for a programme to ensure that the views of people with diabetes, and those caring for them, influence their local NHS services.
The number of people living with diabetes is increasing. About 1.3 million people are diagnosed with diabetes in England every year.
Updated: 10:55 Friday, April 25, 2003
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article