IF you’re fortunate enough to be able to read this, you’re one of the lucky ones.

Because alarming figures just released make unpleasant reading for those expecting a vital eye test.

Almost half of those entitled to screening are missing out on eye tests which could save them from blindness, according to the latest figures.

Statistics from the Department of Health (DoH) show almost half of all diabetics in the area covered by West Kent Primary Care Trust (PCT), which includes Dartford, Gravesend and Swanley, have not been offered screening for diabetic retinopathy.

In the 12 months prior to April this year, just 55.6 per cent of the 24,193 diabetics in the area had been offered screening for the disease, which is the most common cause of blindness in working age people in the UK.

The trust’s screening rate is the ninth worst of all England’s 152 PCTs.

More than three quarters of trusts in England have screened between 90 and 100 per cent of diabetics in their respective areas.

And more than 40 per cent have met the DoH target of screening all those diagnosed with diabetes by the end of 2007.

The disease, mainly caused by diabetes, damages the blood vessels which nourish the retina - the tissue in the back of the eye which deals with light.

In its most serious form - proliferative retinopathy - the disease can cause haemorrhaging, which can seriously affect a person’s vision.

If untreated, the DoH says, proliferative retinopathy will blind half of those who develop it within two years, some within 12 months.

According to the department, early detection through regular eye screening, and further treatment, usually with laser therapy, halves the risk of sight loss.

Bob Deans, deputy chief executive of West Kent PCT acknowledges the delay.

He said: "We acknowledge that too few people last year received eye-screening for diabetic retinopathy.

“We are investing an additional £273,000 this year and we have introduced a centralised appointment system across West Kent, to invite patients to a convenient local screening appointment – and to follow-up if they fail to attend."