In England there are over 100 000 elderly people registered blind and a further 80 000 registered partially sighted. Visual impairment is common in the elderly population, with approximately 10% of people of 65 years of age and over having poor vision. The prevalence of visual problems appears to be much greater among older people in institutionalized care. A study of 100 elderly people living in residential homes in London revealed that 51% had cataract and 34% had significant refractive errors. A further study of patients attending a geriatric day centre found that about one-third had unrecognized visual loss.