JSNA Westmidlands Final Accessible

JSNA Westmidlands Final Accessible

Don’t’ lose sight….

Planning for those at risk of developing or who have a visual impairment

RNIB has discovered that eye care services and services to support people with a visual impairment could be at risk in nearly three quarters of all local authority areas.

Almost 75 per cent of council local needs assessments in the West Midlands do not include any information on people with or at risk of sight loss.

This oversight potentially makes it more difficult to commission services for the 166,940 people believed to be living with sight loss in the West Midlands and as a result could increase health inequalities.

By failing to identify groups of people at risk of developing sight loss, including older people, smokers and people with diabetes in local assessments means that the number of people living with sight loss will continue to increase placing greater pressure on finite resources.

RNIB is asking local authorities across the West Midlands not to lose sight of the eye health needs of their local populations.

Losing sight

RNIB has looked at all local authorities in the West Midlands most recent JSNA (Joint Strategic Needs Assessment) - which are available on the internet - and ranked them according to the whether or not they contain quality information related to the local needs of blind and partially sighted people and those at risk of developing sight loss.

Our rankings are based on a traffic light system and are explained below:

Green:This rating means there is a strong section on sight loss in the JSNA and it may also make links between sight loss and other determinants of health.

Amber: The JSNA may contain a section on sensory impairment but makes no specific reference to sight loss OR includes data on the number of people registered with sight loss but provides no supporting information on what these figures mean.

Red:The JSNA contains no information on sight loss or sensory impairment.

Findings from our research show that over 90 per cent of all JSNAs in the West Midlands contain little or no information on sight loss.

Green:7%

Amber:21%

Red:72%

Each local authority has been rated as follows;

Green: Warwickshire

Amber: Stoke-on-Trent; Solihull; Worcestershire

Red: Birmingham; Staffordshire; Coventry; Dudley; Telford and Wrekin; Sandwell; Walsall; Herefordshire; Shropshire; Wolverhampton

Eye Health; a Public Health Priority

Sight loss prevention is a clear public health priority. The NHS Public Health Outcomes Framework, which is a set of objectives for local authorities set by the Secretary of State for Health, now includes an indicator to measure avoidable sight loss.

Every day 100 people in the UK start to lose their sight. It is predicted that by 2050 the number of people with sight loss in the UK will double to nearly four million.

Worryingly over 50 per cent of sight loss in the UK can be avoided. Sight tests and eye screening programmes not only identity if a person requires glasses but also identifies eye disease. Some eye diseases if detected and treated rapidly can be prevented.

Understanding Local Needs

Understanding the needs and makeup of the local population can help to identify where to best place limited resources.

Local authorities have to produce a JSNA, a document which pulls together local statistics and knowledge on the health and wellbeing of their population.

It is these assessments which are failing to address the needs of blind and partially sighted people and those at risk of developing sight loss across the West Midlands.

When developing a JSNA, local authorities must consider issues affecting equality groups who are disproportionally at risk of experiencing discrimination. Equality groups include, amongst others, people with disability, older people and people from black and ethnic minorities.

The director of Public Health is responsible for ensuring that JSNAs are produced and the Health and Wellbeing Boards oversee the development of them and sign off any final versions. Health and wellbeing board members include the director of public health, elected councillors and a representative from the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). CCGs replaced Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in April 2013

Department of Health Guidance states that CCG should be held to account if they do not take into consideration information contained within the JSNA and Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

RNIB is concerned that if information on sight loss is either weak or excluded within a JSNA it will be more difficult for CCGs and other commissioners to understand the needs of blind and partially sighted people and those who are at risk of developing sight loss.

Health and Wellbeing Strategies

All local authorities must also produce a Health and Wellbeing Strategy. This document sets future priorities based on data and information contained within the JSNA.

In the main, priorities can be as broad as improving the independence of disabled people and older people, to more specific outcomes looking at specific disabilities, such as supporting people with learning disabilities.

Recommendations for local authorities

RNIB is calling upon Local Authorities and Health and Wellbeing Boards to include information on people with or at risk of sight loss;

  • A specific section on sight loss which includes how many people are understood to be living with a sight loss and how many people are predicted to be living with sight loss in the future. Information on this data can be found at
  • Make the links between sight loss and other local priorities, including older people and people with diabetes, and to understand how sight loss impacts upon these groups
  • To understand what local provisions and support are already available for blind and partially sighted people and where there are potential gaps
  • To establish what local services are in place to prevent avoidable sight loss and to identify and address potential gaps.

RNIB as part of the UK Vision strategy has produced guidance on eye health and sight loss information to include within a JSNA

Further information

If you would like further information on this research or to find out how a particular local authority JSNA was scored, then please contact

Tara Melton

Campaigns Officer, Eye Health

01179 341 707

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rnib.org.uk