Eye Health and Sight Loss Sector

Key achievements from last year include:

• The launch of the Eye Care Support Pathway ensuring those diagnosed with sight loss or other related eye health conditions can access information and support throughout their journey. A Children’s and Young People (CYP) Eye Care Support Pathway for England has also been developed.
• A post clinical support for people with sight loss (habilitation and rehabilitation) workstream to commission research into improvements in post-clinical support and implement change.
• Establishment of the VI Insight Hub an accessible, up-to-date, and authoritative source of evidence, insights and facts relating to people living with, or at risk of, sight loss.
• Developed mental health support for children living with a visual impairment in Northern Ireland and advanced the knowledge of healthcare professionals on the emotional impact of sight loss to improve support for those affected.
• Held the first ever Lived Experience Leadership Conference in the sight loss sector and the first step in building a network of support across partnership members.
• Further expansion of the Get Set Progress Internship Programme saw another 23 Interns with sight loss gain valuable work experience with a range of employers and delivered joint work to reduce delays in Access to Work.
• The development of a sector-wide Tech Selector tool to meet a customer need by providing a digital repository of technology and digital application information to help people with sight loss and those working with them to identify potential technology solutions.
• Responded to the cost-of-living crisis by coming together as ‘One Voice’ to achieve greater influence and policy change ensuring the experiences of blind and partially sighted people were acted upon and people knew about their entitlements and sources of support.
• Came together to successfully fight the proposed closure of ticket offices which would have had a negative impact on rail users.