Research counts cost of falls among visually impaired

In 2003 the first research paper on the cost of falls in those with visual impairment led to a call for vision screening and appropriate treatment programmes. Analysts from the Health Economics Consortium at the University of York looked into the hitherto unstudied link between visual impairment and falls resulting in injury.

The research team found that of 2.35 million accidental falls in the UK that required hospital treatment in a 12-month period, 189,000 occurred to individuals with visual impairment, and 89,500 could be attributed to the visual impairment itself. The estimated medical costs of these falls were £269m and £128m respectively.

The work, published in the journal Visual Impairment Research, claims that of the total cost of treating all accidental falls in the UK, 21 per cent was spent on Britain's visual impairment population.

'Falls due to visual impairment are potentially preventable through low vision services, education, treatment or fall-prevention programmes,' the study says.

The York University team states it is not known whether those with visual impairments suffer more serious injuries, but they claim that 'there is evidence that people with visual impairment stay longer in hospital'.

The paper concludes vision screening and other programmes could cut the costs considerably.