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Posted By Iain Boath
I would be pleased to hear from anyone who has come across the condition known as Astigmatism. I know that this is a condition where the cornea has become irregularly shaped and in most cases can be helped by prescription glasses / contact lenses. It also appears to be a relatively common condition.
My query is whether a person with Astigmatism and using a VDU could suffer a deterioration in vision or whether the Coating I believe is required to help reduce glare would come under the Display Screen Equipment Regulations (i.e. does the Employer have a duty to pay for the corrective appliances / coating / etc.).
The task this individual carries out is to operate an Optical Inspection machine which involves picking the work up from a trolley, placing it on the machine, and allow the equipment to verify the work. The operator will briefly view both the work and the visual display to verify any faults. Accumulative total of looking at a VDU is 60 - 90 minutes, but never consantly.
Lighting is good (artificial), visual display is positioned to elimate glare, task does not involve continual use.
Has anyone come across a similar scenario. Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.
With thanks
Iain
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Posted By Paul Leadbetter
Iain
If the employee is a 'user' as defined in the DSE Regs, then the employer must pay for suitable 'corrective appliances'.
Not being an ophthalmologist, I am unclear about your reference to a coating. Surely, the astigmatism is best dealt with by a suitable optical prescription.
Paul
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Posted By Angela Oakey-Jones
Iain,
I suffer with astigmatism and find that I cannot read (books or screens) without my glasses. My optician has told me that my eyes are shaped like rugby balls rather than like footballs and, owing to this, I cannot focus adequately.
If you don't get anywhere with opticians, you could try a web search. I found this particularly useful when researching obsessive compulsive disorder earlier this year.
Angela Oakey-Jones MIOSH
Safety Advisor
Met Police
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Posted By Bill Elliott
This condition is something that I have suffered with for many years and have come to know a little about it. It is a curvature of the cornea, making it uneven to the extent that image focus on the retina is difficult causing blurring. It is usually inherited, can be in just one eye but often both. Is usually corrected with prescription lenses but some cases can be effectively dealt with by surgery. It is sometimes associated with sensitivity to strong light but this is not part of the condition. A complete eye examination by a qualified optometrist (being the preferred term - not optician any more) will identify the extent of the problem and the necessary corrective appliance. My understanding is that this is not related to DSE work and that such work will not worsen the condition (but am open to others advice/opinion who may feel differently). Corrective appliances for the focal length at which DSE work is undertaken will need to have an element within them for the correction of the astigmatism and without such correction the employee would be unable to see clearly. It follows (I feel) that the employer would pay for that.
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Posted By Ian Mycroft
I have a question.
Would someone suffering from this condition normaly need to wear corrective lenses?
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Posted By Neil Pearson
I'm astigmatic and agree with the comments above. Yes, we do normally need corrective lenses. As far as I'm aware there's no reason to exclude people with astigmatism from detailed work like this.
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Posted By Ian Mycroft
As someone with astigmatism would normaly wear corrective apliances and if these can also be used for the DSE work, it is not the employers responsibility to pay for them. The employers responsibility only extends to special corrective appliances used specifically for DSE work.
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Posted By Jack
- - - of course, but they might need to be further modified for vdu distance
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