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Sight Loss Data Tool Version 3.6: Guidance Notes
January 2018
Version 1.0
Contents
Sight Loss Data Tool Version 3.6: Guidance Notes 1
Contents 2
1. Introduction 6
1.1 Guidance notes structure 6
1.2 Modelled estimates 7
1.3 Feedback 8
1.4 Sight Loss UK and Evidence-based reviews 8
1.5 Further information 9
2. Geography 10
3. Area profile 11
3.1 General population – number and proportion by age 11
3.2 General population – number and proportion by ethnic group 12
3.3 Local area deprivation 13
3.4 Rural/urban classification 15
3.5 General health and health problem or disability 16
3.6 Unpaid carers 18
3.7 Carers and social contact 18
3.8 Smoking prevalence 19
3.9 Excessive weight prevalence 20
4. Living with sight loss 22
4.1 Number of people living with sight loss 22
4.2 Prevalence of sight loss 24
4.3 Future projections of the number of people living with sight loss and the prevalence of sight loss in 2020, 2025 and 2030 26
5. Certification 27
5.1 Number of Certifications of Vision Impairment 27
5.2 Rate of Certifications of Vision Impairment by specific eye conditions 28
5.3 Change in rate of Certifications of Vision Impairment from 2012/13 to 2015/16 30
6. Registration 32
6.1 Number of people registered as blind or partially sighted 32
6.2 Proportion of people registered blind or partially sighted also recorded as having an additional disability 34
6.3 Rate of registration per 100,000 people 35
6.4 Percentage change in registration over time 36
6.5 Number of people newly registered and percentage change 38
7. Children and young people 40
7.1 Number and proportion of children and young people 40
7.2 Number of blind and partially sighted children and young people (including the number with an additional disability) 41
7.3 Number and proportion of children with visual impairment as primary SEN 42
7.4 Local Offer for children and young people sensory service 44
8. Working age 46
8.1 Estimated number of people of working age living with sight loss 46
8.2 Number of people of working age registered as blind or partially sighted 47
8.3 Unemployment rate of people aged 16-64 48
8.4 Proportion of population that drive to work 49
8.5 Gap in the employment rate between those with a long-term health condition and the overall employment rate 50
9. Older people 52
9.1 Number of older people 52
9.2 Number of older people living with sight loss 53
9.3 Number of older people living in care homes 54
9.4 Number of older people registered as blind or partially sighted 55
9.5 Estimated number of older people living with sight loss 56
9.6 Percentage of long stay care home residents with visual impairment 57
10. NHS sight tests 59
10.1 Number of NHS sight tests 59
10.2 Rate of NHS sight tests 62
11. Cost of sight loss 64
11.1 Total and proportion of NHS expenditure on problems of vision or ophthalmic services 64
11.2 NHS expenditure on problems of vision per person 67
11.3 Total indirect cost of sight loss 68
11.4 Indirect cost of sight loss per person 69
12. Sight threatening eye conditions 71
12.1 Number of people living with age-related macular degeneration; 2015, 2020, 2025 and 2030 71
12.2 Number of people living with cataract in 2015, 2020, 2025 and 2030 74
12.3 Number of people living with glaucoma in 2015, 2020, 2025 and 2030 75
12.4 Number of people living with diabetes in 2015, 2020, 2025 and 2030 77
12.5 Proportion of patients who were invited to, and attended, a retinal screening appointment 79
12.6 Number of people living with diabetic retinopathy and severe diabetic retinopathy in 2015, 2020, 2025 and 2030 80
13. Support 83
13.1 Ophthalmology outpatient appointments 83
13.2 Ophthalmology waiting times from referral to treatment 85
13.3 Number of Trusts with eye clinic support in England / Access to eye clinic support Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland 86
13.4 Rehabilitation support – visual impairment 89
13.5 Number and proportion of blind and partially sighted people in receipt of Disability Living Allowance 91
13.6 Number of blind and partially sighted people in receipt of adult social care services 92
13.7 Proportion of adult social care users who do not have as much social contact as they would like 93
13.8 Number of blue badges issued and held by people registered blind 94
14. Falls and other health conditions and disabilities 96
14.1 Falls 96
14.2 Dementia and sight loss 98
14.3 Stroke 100
14.4 Hearing impairment 102
14.5 Dual sensory loss 104
14.6 Number of people registered with dual sensory loss 108
14.7 Number of adults with a learning disability and visual impairment 109
15. Benchmarking Indicators 112
15.1 People aged 75+ (rate per 1,000) 113
15.2 People from BME groups (rate per 1,000) 115
15.3 Living with sight loss – 2015 (rate per 1,000) 116
15.4 Living with sight loss – 2030 (rate per 1,000) 118
15.5 Certifications of Vision Impairment 2013/14 (rate per 100,000) 120
15.6 Blind and partially sighted register (rate per 100,000) 121
Appendix A – Additional resources 124
1. Toolkits and guides for using data 124
2. Directory of services 124
3. Other useful data tools 125
Appendix B – Geographical Areas 130
1. England Regions 130
2. Scotland Regions 132
3. Wales Regions 132
4. Northern Ireland Regions 133
5. NHS Area Team and NHS Trust (England) 133
6. Clinical Commissioning Group (England) 143
7. NHS Health Board (Wales and Scotland) 146
8. NHS Health and Social Care Trust (Northern Ireland) 148
9. Hospitals (Northern Ireland) 149
1. Introduction
RNIB’s Sight Loss Data Tool provides information about blind and partially sighted people and those at risk of sight loss at a local level throughout the UK.
The data tool is aimed at supporting expert local knowledge by providing up to date statistics on a wide range of different indicators. These indicators are broadly based either on official statistics (for example, Office of National Statistics [ONS] population projections for 2016, register of blind and partially sighted people) or modelled estimates based on existing research (for example, the number of people living with sight loss).
These indicators can support a number of different activities, including:
· Improving your understanding of blind and partially sighted people and those at risk of sight loss in your area.
· Accessing local, relevant, evidence based statistics to engage with funders or commissions.
· Accessing population data to use in planning services or strategy development.
You can find the Sight Loss Data Tool along with ‘How to use the data tool’, a user guide, which can help you make the most of the features in the tool, at www.rnib.org.uk/datatool.
1.1 Guidance notes structure
These guidance notes have been developed to accompany the Sight Loss Data Tool. This document provides further details of the sources of data and evidence, calculations that have been used to develop the indicators, how to interpret the data and limitations that may need to be considered when interpreting the data.
The structure of this document follows the chapters used in the full report generated in the data tool. Information on benchmarking indicators has been included in the last data section followed by two appendices.
Indicators have been grouped together where they share sources and methodology. There is a brief introduction to each group of indicators and the following information:
Coverage and type
The coverage of an indicator relates to the parts of the UK which are covered by the data. This is particularly relevant for official statistics as coverage and availability often varies between the countries within the UK.
The type of indicator highlights whether or not the data is based on official statistics or is an estimate calculated by RNIB.
Sources
References for each indicator are provided. Users can refer back to the sources for more in depth information or analysis where required.
Definitions
Information related to how the data was collected, what it includes and any information about terminology. The guidance notes may refer to ‘raw data’ worksheets in the Sight Loss Data Tool. These hold all data items for all indicators in the automated reports.
Calculation
Details of any calculations used in developing the indicators are highlighted.
1.2 Modelled estimates
Some of the indicators in the data tool are estimates based on existing research and evidence. These estimates are often the only way that we can provide information on certain topics, and they have been included as a guide for further discussion. They do not take into account local variation or additional demographic factors that are not included in the base prevalence rates. If you have any questions about using this type of data then please contact us at .
1.3 Feedback
Your feedback is extremely important to RNIB. Prioritisation of the development of features included in Version 3.5 of this data tool was based on the feedback we received for Version 2. If different geographical boundaries would be helpful, or if information you would like to see included is missing then please let us know.
We would also like to hear about the aspects of the data tool you find most useful, how you are using it and of any impact having access to this data has had on the support blind and partially sighted people and those at risk of sight loss receive in your area. Please contact us at .
1.4 Sight Loss UK and Evidence-based reviews
Sight Loss UK is an evidence review report produced by RNIB. It presents a range of indicators that show us what life is like for people with experience of sight loss and for those at risk of sight loss at a national level.
Our Evidence-based reviews present an in depth look at the experiences of blind and partially sighted people by age group (i.e. children and young people, working age people and older age people). The reviews present a profile of the specific group, the policies that govern and impact upon their lives, and a commentary on what the evidence tells us.
You can access “Sight Loss UK 2013” and the Evidence-based reviews at www.rnib.org.uk/research.
1.5 Further information
If you have any questions about the Sight Loss Data Tool or require any additional statistics or evidence related to blind and partially sighted people or those at risk of sight loss, then please contact .
The best way to keep up to date with RNIB’s research, including future updates to the Sight Loss Data Tool, is to sign up for email notifications on the RNIB website. You can sign up for notifications by sending your email address or contact details to www.rnib.org.uk/research.
2. Geography
The aim of the Sight Loss Data Tool is to provide information at a local level throughout the UK. Below is a brief summary of the geographical boundaries used in the data tool, a complete list can be found in Appendix C.
England
Data in England is provided for upper-tier council areas, that is Unitary Authority and County level, and also for lower-tier council areas including District Councils and Boroughs. Data is also provided for the nine government office regions in England. Some health data is provided by NHS Area Team and local NHS Trust. Official healthcare expenditure data is provided by Clinical Commissioning Group.
If you require further information based on English health boundaries, further information and links can be found in section 1 of Appendix A.
Wales
Data in Wales is provided for all local authorities, regions based on NUTS classifications and some health data is provided for regional Health Boards. For more information, see Appendix B.
Scotland
Data in Scotland is provided for all local authorities, regions based on NUTS classifications and some health data is provided for regional NHS Health Boards. For more information, see Appendix B.
Northern Ireland
Data in Northern Ireland is provided for all local government districts, regions based on NUTS classifications and some health data is provided for NHS Health and Social Care Trusts. For more information, see Appendix B.
3. Area profile
This section provides information about the characteristics of a local area. This includes the age and ethnicity of the residents of the area and information about the average level of deprivation.
3.1 General population – number and proportion by age
These indicators provide an overview of the age profile of the general population. Data is provided on specific age bands covering both number and proportion of the area population in each age band.
Coverage and type
All areas; official statistics.
Sources
ONS (2017), 2016 mid-year detailed population estimates, Office for National Statistics.
Definitions
ONS population estimates refer to the usually resident population on 30th June of the reference year and are published annually. They are derived by taking the population measured in the most recent census; ageing this on; then adjusting for births, deaths, international migration and internal migration (that is, migration within the UK).
The age bands used in the data tool are:
· 0–4 years