The Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Service (DRSS) offers specialised eye tests to NHS patients with diabetes. It is to be run by Health Intelligence, a company which has been involved for a number of years in screening patients with diabetes for primary care trusts across England.

Sian Kendrick-Jones, a Public Health Principal at NHS Norfolk said: “Our paramount concern remains the quality of the service to our patients and we are delighted that this change of provider will enable us, shortly, to offer people improved access to screening.

Shamsher Diu, Deputy Director of Public Health at NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney said: “We have worked with the new provider to review where people with diabetes live and will be planning screening clinics accordingly. This will enable us to ensure as many people as possible with diabetes are screened.”

Health Intelligence was successful in its bid to provide a DRSS to six primary care trusts across East Anglia: NHS Norfolk, NHS Great Yarmouth & Waveney, NHS Suffolk, NHS Cambridgeshire, NHS North East Essex and NHS Mid Essex.

The new service will ensure that all patients with diabetes aged 12 and above and registered with a GP practice will receive an invitation to have an annual screening test as they have done in previous years. In addition, any patients with diabetes who are not registered but who are known to be resident locally will also receive an invitation.

The NHS has been working closely with Diabetes UK during its search for a new provider for the DRSS.

Diabetes UK’s Regional Manager, Sharon Tilbrook, said: “We were invited to take part in the tender and interview process for the new provider. We have no concerns and believe the new service will continue to provide, at the very least, the same quality and standard of service.

“I met with the new providers early this year and we will work together to ensure the views of the service users are heard going forward. We will continue to be a member of the Programme Board to monitor the transition of services and ensure the new provider is fulfilling the specification.”

All contact details for the service will remain the same when Health Intelligence takes over the service on April 1st  2011.