DIABETES sufferers are being invited to have their eyes checked for complications using new digital photography equipment.
Sessions will take place at Darwen Health Centre, the Independent Living Centre, Mill Hill, and Larkhill Health Centre, Blackburn.
Programme manager Tina Clark said: "The sooner diabetic retinopathy is found, the sooner it can be successfully treated.
"The condition damages small blood vessels at the back of the eye, and our digital photography technique can detect this very well."
The programme will replace the scheme provided by optometrists and will run alongside it for six months.
A spokeswoman for Blackburn with Darwen NHS Primary Care Trust, which has organised the service, said: "Locally, the number of people diagnosed with diabetes is growing fast, in line with national trends with 6,000 people known to have the condition.
"Diabetes in Blackburn with Darwen is higher than the national average and Type 2 diabetes is often present but undiagnosed."
l Peter Banks, the first patient in Blackburn to receive the screening, is seen with Joanne Harrington, diabetic retinal screener and grader at Larkhill Health Centre.
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