Number of people newly certified severely sight impaired and sight impaired by age group and health board

Variable filters

You will be able to change the filter selections once you've chosen how to view the data.
Data description

This indicates what a data value represents

1 of 1 selected
No values match your search
Age
6 of 6 selected
No values match your search
Year
13 of 13 selected
No values match your search
Area
11 of 11 selected
No values match your search

Select a variable for the columns of the table

The values for this variable will go across the top of your table. For example, for a variable containing years, each year would have its own column. You can select a variable in the 'Variable filters' menu to see what values it contains.

See values
See values
See values
See values

Next update expected:September 2026

Updates

30th September 2025
Dataset first published.

Main information

Designation
Official statistics
Data provider 1
NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
Data source 1
Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI) form
Data provider 2
Moorfields Eye Hospital
Data source 2
No specific source from data provider
Time period covered
April 2012 to March 2025

Overview

Summary of dataset and variables

This dataset shows the number of people newly certified as severely sight impaired or sight impaired with a certificate of vision impairment (CVI).

Wales General Ophthalmic Services (WGOS) 3 enables patients who would benefit from optical and non-optical aids as well as holistic rehabilitation support (including sight impairment registration) and advice to access a low vision service in or close to their place of residence. WGOS 3 also includes Certification of Vision Impairment (CVI).

The data is broken down by age group, health board (of patient’s residence), and financial year. Certification is a formal process that recognises individuals with significant vision loss who may be eligible for additional support. The dataset provides insight into the distribution of new certifications across different age groups and health boards over time.

Data collection or calculation

For 2023-24 onwards, data is extracted from the low vision system maintained by NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP) and is based on data collected from a CVI form by NWSSP. The data covering periods up to 2022-23 was supplied by Moorfields Eye Hospital and was extracted from the Database for Epidemiological data on Visual Impairment Certificates (DEVICE). The counts are based on Welsh residents newly certified on Welsh and English forms. After NWSSP took over the data collection from 2023-24, data for Welsh residents certified in England is provided separately by Moorfields Eye Hospital. CVIs are grouped by financial year, health board and age categories: under 20, 20–59, 60–79, and 80 or over, with totals calculated at both health board and Wales levels. Counts represent the number of new certifications within each group.

Statistical quality

To protect confidentiality, counts fewer than five are suppressed, and secondary suppression is applied where necessary to prevent disclosure through deduction. Data for the latest year excludes Welsh residents certified in England. This is because this data is supplied by Moorfields Eye Hospital later in the year and therefore, the data for the latest year will be updated to include Welsh residents certified in England in the next publication. 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