Figures released by Specsavers Corporate Eyecare indicate that employers play a vital role in the health and wellbeing of their employees, with at least 47 lives being saved in 2012 through routine visits to Specsavers’ opticians.
Highlighting the far-reaching benefits of a simple eyecare policy, it said that all of the 47 individuals were simply visiting their optician to have their eyesight checked and in each case, the routine process led to the detection of a life-threatening condition, which was subsequently successfully treated.
Laura Butler, Corporate Account Manager at Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, says:
“Virtually every employee is entitled to company-funded eyecare under health and safety regulations. The number of lives saved by routine eye examinations just goes to show how vital it is for employers to provide this benefit and for employees to make use of the provision.”
In terms of being provided with eyecare, employees who use a computer screen, drive for work purposes or require PPE, should all be provided, which therefore leaves very few employees not covered.
Specsavers Corporate Eyecare says that although some people may feel that their vision itself is not an issue, there are much wider benefits to eyecare. It stresses that digital retinal screening is an important element in preventative care and allows the optometrist to detect and monitor the many serious illnesses and health conditions, including:
- diabetes
- various heart conditions
- cancers of the eye, such as melanomas
- brain tumours
- high cholesterol
- detached retina
- hypertension (high blood pressure)
- glaucoma
It also explained that the benefits are felt by the employer, with the Office of National Statistics stating, for example, that 500,000 working days are lost each year through diabetes and 4,500,000 days are lost through heart and blood pressure-related conditions.
