Diabetic retinopathy screening outcomes by patient characteristics

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Next update expected:September 2026

Updates

3rd February 2026

Some data relating to Diabetic Eye Screening Wales have been revised as of February 2026. Public Health Wales provided additional retrospective data for 2023-24 and 2024-25 on screening results for low-risk recall participants as these results only recently became available. The data originally published on 30 September 2025 has been updated to include these revised data, resulting in large changes to the number of results reported and to the number of patients with no retinopathy. See the 2024-25 statistical report for further information.

30th September 2025
Dataset first published.

Main information

Designation
Official statistics
Data provider
Diabetic Eye Screening Wales (DESW)
Data source
No specific source from data provider
Time period covered
March 2014 to March 2025

Overview

Summary of dataset and variables

This dataset shows the outcomes from Diabetic Eye Screening Wales (DESW) screenings, broken down by patient characteristics such as sex and age group, and by financial year. It provides insight into how screening results vary across different population groups and over time.

Data collection or calculation

Aggregated counts of patients are derived from patient records and used as information to manage the DESW and have been provided for this statistical release. No data relating to individual patients has been transferred in this process. When a patient is diagnosed with diabetes by a GP, a referral is sent to DESW and the patient is registered and invited for screening. Screening is carried out in a mobile unit or healthcare sites. Patient information, including retinal images, is stored on the DESW database. DESW validates the database monthly against the Welsh Demographic Service to ensure that it is aligned with living Welsh residents. Total counts are also routinely validated against GP diabetes disease registers. The different outcomes in the dataset are determined by the ‘worst grade’ code assigned at each diabetic eye screening. This code identifies the extent of retinopathy. All screenings, including those with unreported outcomes, are included in the total ‘results reported’. The number of screenings resulting in each outcome is broken down by age group and gender, and the percentage of each outcome within these groups is also calculated.

Statistical quality

For some years, all screenings with severe retinopathy/maculopathy were urgently referred to hospital eye services and so the numbers for both categories are the same. Note that there are small amounts of missing data within some fields of the DESW statistics. Percentages are calculated of records with stated values. The outcomes of a number of screenings were ungradeable in each year (usually between 2,000 and 3,000). On 1 April 2019, health service responsibility for Bridgend residents moved from Abertawe Bro Morgannwg to Cwm Taf. Health board names also changed: Cwm Taf became Cwm Taf Morgannwg, and Abertawe Bro Morgannwg became Swansea Bay. See the weblinks section for official statements.

Related reports

Published by

Organisation
Welsh Government
Contact email
stats.healthinfo@gov.wales