Ministers announced a £27 million cash boost to help prevent diabetes patients going blind this week.

The new funds are to be spent on digital retinopathy cameras. The aim is for every primary health care trust in England to provide screening services for patients with diabetes over the next three years.

A spokesman for the Department of Health told ePolitix.com: "We are heartened by the positive response to the announcement of £27 million funding for screening for diabetic retinopathy from these key and valued organisations.

"The Diabetes NSF has been costed and funding to deliver its national and locally-determined targets has been reflected in the enhanced generalallocations to PCTs announced on 11 December, but in keeping with the philosophy of Shifting the Balance of Power, PCTs are free to decide the allocation of resources locally.

"However, it is not just a question of money. There will also need to be changes in working practices and better organisation and direction of services, to deliver improved care from existing resources by replicating best current practice.

"We acknowledge that more staff will be needed to meet the growing expectations within diabetes services. The Department of Health's Long-Term Conditions Care Group Workforce Team (CGWT) is working closely with the Changing Workforce Programme, Skills for Health and the University for the NHS (NHSU) to support the development of a workforce with the right skills and competences to work in new ways.

"A Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Project Advisory Group (including professional organisations and Diabetes UK) has been established to steer the development of a national programme to support local implementation.

"A sub-committee of the Advisory group has been established specifically to look at workforce, training and education issues to ensure that there is appropriate training and accreditation available for the individual competencies needed by all personnel involved in the screening programme. The group will work closely with the CGWT."

Forum Response: Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust

Jenny Hirst, co-chairman of the Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust, told ePolitix.com: "IDDT welcomes the government announcement of a cash injection £27 million to purchase digital retinal cameras for eye screening in people with diabetes in England.

"The recently published National Service Framework for diabetes set targets for care and treatment to reduce diabetic complications with the prevention of blindness being high on the agenda.

"However, IDDT is concerned that the government did not allocate any extra ring fenced funds to implement the NSF targets. While the funding of cameras must be welcomed, the government should recognise that this is only part of the resource problem.

"The eye screening programme, and the other NSF targets, require educational programmes to train new staff and the skilled staff to carry these out. There are already major recruitment difficulties within diabetes care.

"These issues need addressing urgently otherwise the standards set by NSF for eye screening and diabetes care generally will not be achieved and patients will not see an improvement in their care."

Forum Response: Guide Dogs for the Blind

Matt Grainger, public affairs manager of the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, told ePolitix.com: "This £27 million government boost to help prevent sight loss amongst people with diabetes is extremely welcome.

"The most effective way of minimising levels of blindness and partial sight is to catch eye conditions before they cause sight loss.

"Comprehensive screening, combined with full ophthalmic testing, would be a significant step towards this and we look forward to the very positive approach taken in relation to diabetic retinopathy being repeated with age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and children's eye health."

Forum Response: Royal National Institute of the Blind

A spokesman for the Royal National Institute of the Blind told ePolitix.com: "The Royal National Institute of the Blind is delighted with what we warmly welcome as very good news. It is however vital that new money being invested towards the screening and prevention of diabetic retinopathy ensures that facilities for the treatment of this eye condition are also put in place."