Mr. William O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the incidence of eye disease leading to blindness or hospital treatment in Northern Ireland giving the numbers of people involved.
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§ Mr. Ancram[holding reply 21 July 1993]: Information on the incidence of all eye disease is not available centrally.
Activity in the speciality of ophthalmology in Northern Ireland hospitals for the year from 1 April 1992 to 31 March 1993 is as set out below:
Number Admissions 5,992 Day cases 2,750 Outpatient referrals 21,832 Cases operated on 6,095
Mr. William O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were registered blind and partially sighted in each year since 1985; and what figures are projected for registrations in(a) five and (b) 10 years time.
§ Mr. Ancram[holding reply 21 July 1993]: The information is not available in the form requested. The numbers of blind and partially sighted people in contact with, or known to, health and social services boards are presented in the tables below. This includes some people who are not registered. Information on projected figures in five and 10 years' time is not available centrally.
Year Number of blind people Number of partially sighted people 19851 3,437 1,285 19861 3,534 1,304 19871 3 3,833 1,383 1988–892 3,568 1,167 1989–902 4 2,497 869 1990–912 2,974 1,087 1991–922 5 3,116 1,254 1Blind and partially sighted people known to health boards. 2Blind and partially sighted people in contact with health boards. 3Includes estimated data. 4Boards were in contact with a further 579 visually impaired people who were not categorised. 5Provisional data.