Untreated diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common causes of sight loss. When the condition is caught early, treatment is effective at reducing or preventing damage to your sight. 

Diabetic retinopathy occurs when diabetes affects small blood vessels, damaging the part of the eye called the retina. It can cause the blood vessels in the retina to leak or become blocked.

We invite everyone with diabetes aged 12 and over for diabetic eye screening. How often you are invited for screening will depend on the results from your last 2 screening appointments. If no diabetic retinopathy was detected, you will be invited for screening every 1 or 2 years.

Diabetic eye screening is not covered as part of your normal eye examination with an optician. Screening does not look for other eye conditions and you should continue to visit your optician regularly for an eye examination as well.

To find out more about Diabetic Eye Screening including what happens at a test and your results, visit: Diabetic eye screening - NHS

More information can be found using the links at the bottom of this page or at the GOV.UK website. All leaflets are available in ten other languages.