Fight for Sight to release landmark report on social and economic impact of sight loss in the UK

Fight for Sight will publish a landmark report next month highlighting the huge social and economic impact of sight loss in the UK. 

The charity will also be unveiling its unique costing tool to demonstrate the current and future costs of sight loss and how investment in eye research could benefit both individuals affected by sight loss and wider society. 

Fight for Sight is inviting people with sight loss, funding bodies, stakeholders and other players in the field of ophthalmology and public health services to an interactive webinar to launch its report ‘Time to Focus’ on Wednesday, 16 September 2020, from 3:30 to 5:00pm BST.

At the beginning of 2020 Fight for Sight carried out one of the largest surveys of people with sight loss and blindness to understand the personal impact of sight loss. The Time to Focus report will reveal the findings of that research, and will also include rigorous health economic and bibliometric data from peer-reviewed research conducted by academics at the London School of Economics (LSE) and other partners.

Today in the UK two and a half million people are living with sight loss, more than half of which is avoidable, and this number is set to grow exponentially by 2050. Meanwhile, ophthalmology has the highest number of outpatients of any medical specialty and even prior to Covid-19 it was already under pressure with an existing backlog of patients. In spite of this, currently only 1.5 percent of national research funding is invested in eye research. Fight for Sight says this is a public health crisis that can no longer be ignored.

The report launch will see keynote speaker Professor Sir Peng Tee Khaw - Professor and Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Director of the UK NIHR Biomedical Research Centre in Ophthalmology - and other leading scientists, partners and supporters come together to discuss the report findings. 

Chief Executive at Fight for Sight, Sherine Krause said: “Our report will demonstrate the impact of sight loss and how potential investment in research now could transform people’s wellbeing and reduce the huge economic and social costs. These issues are more important than ever in a post Brexit and Covid-19 landscape. We’re encouraging members of the government, health services, industry, charities, researchers and those impacted by sight loss to join us for the launch of our report on September 16.”

To take part in the interactive webinar to launch Fight for Sight’s report ‘Time to Focus’, simply follow the link below.

We would like to extend our grateful thanks to the Trustees at The Clothworkers’ Foundation, Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Ltd., Roche Products Ltd., and Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. whose kind support has made this report possible. 

Please note that the funders of this report have had no control or influence over the content of this report.