Written question asked by Lord Harrison (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Darzi of Denham (Labour) on Monday, 17 November 2008.

Health: Diabetes

Question: What outcomes are being measured to assess the extent to which the identification of cases of diabetic retinopathy through the national screening programme are resulting in changes to patient management.

Answer: The English national screening programme for sight-threatening retinopathy (NSP), set up to support local delivery of diabetic retinopathy screening, has developed clear protocols for communications between screening sites, specialist grading centres and general practitioners' surgeries. Such communication is reviewed as part of quality assurance. The NSP has set 19 national quality standards for screening programmes to measure the effectiveness of all screening programmes. These can be found on the website www.retinalscreening.nhs.uk. These include standards for the timely referral of patients with retinopathy, informing general practitioners of results of screening and the timely assessment and treatment of patients with screen-positive results. The effectiveness of screening programmes against these standards is being assessed as part of the external quality-assurance process being undertaken by the NSP. The NSP and the national clinical director for diabetes are working closely with a number of key stakeholders, including the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists, to ensure screening for diabetic retinopathy is fully integrated with other aspects of diabetes and ophthalmology care.

Secondary information