Sight on equity: Understanding the barriers faced by black and Asian minoritised communities when accessing sight tests - March 2026
This project (through community-based face to face engagement and a supporting survey which collectively reached over 200 people) sought to:
- Understand the level of uptake of sight tests amongst black and Asian minoritised communities
- Investigate the experiences and perceptions of eye health, routine sight tests and NHS entitlements
- Identify barriers to accessing eye care services
- Co-produce practical recommendations that address those barriers.
The project was supported by a team of external stakeholders, including:
- Surrey Local Optical Committee (LOC)
- Sight for Surrey
- In Health Diabetic Eye Screening Programme
- Surrey Minority Ethnic Forum (SMEF)
- Local opticians from Specsavers
- Surrey Heartlands ICB.
Key findings
There are clear differences in how often people from Surrey’s black and Asian communities have sight tests, with some not having them as regularly as recommended.
There is also a reliance on opticians to instigate appointment booking, with people waiting to be invited for a first or follow-up appointment.
Some people didn’t start having eye tests until until around age 40; preventative eye health (and the link between sight tests, eye health and general health) was neither widely understood nor prioritised, with cost and language acting as key barriers.
Cost was a significant barrier - even for those who thought they needed a sight test and many not being sure about NHS entitlements.
People shared concerns about language in relation to sight tests with 1 in 9 survey respondents mentioning this as a reason why they had not had their sight tested.
Our report makes recommendations based on our findings.
“I have never had my eyes tested. Sometimes everything seems blurry to me and, many times, my eyes hurt and I get headaches because of it. My eyes water a lot in the wind and sun and, in my family history, both my parents have eye problems. I had these problems in Bangladesh and have been in this country for 2 years now. I wouldn’t know how to make an appointment or how to get to an optician. I am worried about the cost also. I don’t know if I’m worried about the test itself as I don’t know what to expect.”
