Your result

You'll get a letter about your result within 6 weeks of having an eye screening test.

Tell your GP practice if you do not get a letter within 6 weeks.

There are 3 types of result.

No eye changes

This is called no retinopathy.

This means:

• no changes to your eyes were found
• you'll be asked to come back for another test in a year

Some changes to your eyes

This is called background retinopathy.

This means:

• diabetes has caused some small changes to your eyes (called diabetic retinopathy)
• your sight is not affected, but it might get worse if you do not follow advice about how to prevent eye damage from diabetes
• you'll be asked to come back for another test in a year

Eye damage that could affect your sight

This is called referable retinopathy.

This means:

• diabetes has damaged your eyes
• your sight could be affected
• you'll be referred to a specialist to talk about what happens next
• you may need to have screening tests more often
• you may need treatment for eye damage from diabetes

Sometimes the pictures of your eyes may not be clear enough to give a result. If this happens, you'll be asked to have another test.

Page last reviewed: Mon May 2022 Next review due: Wed Feb 2020