The principles of a national diabetic eye screening programme

Screening identifies apparently healthy people who may be at increased risk of a disease or condition, enabling earlier treatment or better-informed decisions. The NHS diabetic eye screening (DES) programme is one of the young person and adult NHS population screening programmes in the UK. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), which makes independent, evidence-based recommendations to ministers in the four UK nations about the 11 population-based screening programmes. Public Health England (PHE)—Screening Quality Assurance Service (SQAS) ensures programmes are safe and effective by ensuring national standards are met.