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If you are a person with diabetes and are over 12 years old you will have the opportunity to have your eyes checked (screened) each year. As part of the national screening programme an annual invitation for eye screening will be sent to you.

MOBILE DIABETIC RETINOPATHY SCREENING UNIT (EYE VAN)

	The Mobile Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Unit or 'eye van' visits health centres in the Tayside area to record digital images of the eye retina for screening. The photographic images are recorded
on computer and examined by specialist screeners and doctors from the Screening Service for signs of Diabetic Retinopathy.

Dundee and Perth City Areas

• People who live in the Dundee and Perth will be sent an appointment for their routine annual diabetic screening. This is part of an ongoing process where lists of people for a selected health centre are examined at yearly intervals to identify those who require screening. Please note, that sometimes people require screening at 6 monthly intervals.
• Details of people with newly diagnosed diabetes are notified to the Screening Service by their GP; an appointment will be sent to the person within 1 month of notification. For GPs, people newly diagnosed with diabetes should be registered (with a date of diagnosis) on SCI-DC, this can be done via the online web administration forms.
• People who require screening at 6 monthly intervals will be sent an appointment to attend at the Ninewells Hospital Diabetes Centre or Perth Royal Infirmary.

Six monthly screening

Perthshire and Angus Areas

Appointments

• Those who regularly attend the Hospital Eye Clinic for diabetic related conditions, may not need screening and should telephone the Screening Programme to let us know.
• If someone has missed their appointment, or wishes to attend at another venue, please contact the Screening Programme.
• If a Health Centre would like an individual screened when the mobile unit is visiting it, they should contact the Screening Programme and this will be arranged. People should however be aware that they may be delayed while people with pre-booked appointments are screened. 
• All appointments are now made by the Screening Programme. If you want to telephone the Programme we can be contacted on 01382 633956 between 0900 and 1200 Monday to Friday.

Key information for Medical/Nursing Staff about Diabetic Retinopathy Screening

• It is the function of the Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Programme (DRSP) to call/recall all ‘eligible’ people (those over the age of 12 years and those who do not already attend an eye clinic for diabetic retinopathy) with diabetes for annual screening.
• SCI-DC is the feeder for eligible people with diabetes which is populated by GPs using a webform.
• Each practice is called on rotation and screening is conducted in mobile units in areas outwith Dundee and Perth Cities. 
• For people living in the Dundee and Perth areas, screening is carried out at clinics in Ninewells Hospital and Perth Royal Infirmary respectively.
• Appointments are sent out directly from the DRS administration office at Ninewells Hospital. If anyone wishes to re-schedule or cancel an appointment, they are asked to contact the DRS administration office. 
• The Screening Programme tries to coincide appointments with the person’s annual review, however this cannot be guaranteed. 
• Newly diagnosed people with diabetes should be screened within 12 weeks from diagnosis, these people are appointed automatically once the GP has registered them on SCI-DC.
• Pregnant women with pre-existing DM who do not currently attend an eye clinic or pregnant women with diabetes first detected during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy should be screened during the first, second and third trimesters. The Diabetologist or Diabetes Specialist Nurse will either refer those people directly from the antenatal clinic at Ninewells Hospital during the Tuesday morning clinic.  
• Diabetologists or Diabetes Specialist Nurses in the Perth & Kinross and Angus areas should contact the Screening Office to notify them of eligible women in order that an appointment is arranged.
• The Fife DRS Programme is responsible for the call/recall and screening of their own diabetic population, defined as all patients registered with a GP in Fife. When recalled by the Fife scheme, people are permitted to elect to have retinal screening in Tayside, but it is the responsibility of Fife DRSP to arrange on going follow-up. Therefore Tayside Medical Staff should not encourage Fife people to be screened in Tayside as we are unable to recall these people. However, if eye screening has not been undertaken within the last 12 -15 months they may wish to bring it to the attention of the Tayside DRSP who will in turn, contact the Fife Programme or alternatively, they should ask the patient to call the Fife Screening Service directly on 01592 226851.
• Once screening is performed, the images are sent to the grading centre and a result should be sent to each patient within 20 working days from the screening episode.
• Following screening, a report letter is sent to each individual, this can say one of several things:

Rescreen in 1 year for normal or background retinopathy

Rescreen in 6 months if observable retinopathy or maculopathy is found

Refer for slit lamp examination if the images is ungradeable

Refer to ophthalmology for either diabetic retinopathy or other eye pathology

Did not attend 

• If someone requires more frequent screening, the appointment will be automatically generated by the DRSP software in 6 month’s time. 
• If slit lamp examination is required, the DRSP administration team will automatically refer the person to the eye clinic, who in turn will organise an appointment in due course. 
• Unfortunately, neither the results of those who have had their eyes screened by slit lamp examination nor details of persons who DNA a screening appointment, appear on SCI-DC. It is believed, however that a new interface which should be available in January 2009 should overcome these issues.
• Although screening appointment DNAs do not appear on SCI-DC, the GP will receive a letter from the DRS Programme informing them of this.
• When a person is referred to ophthalmology and fails to attend on several occasions, the agreed National and local protocol is that the person should be temporarily suspended for a year and then re-referred to opthamology. The DRSP administration team will do this automatically.

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