Business Disability Forum Releases New Practical Guide to Vision Loss

Today (Wednesday, November 2, 2022), the Business Disability Forum is launched new resourceprovides blind people, health professionals, employers, and businesses with a practical guide to blindness.

Survey from IAPB 1.1 billion people worldwide are blind. RNIB estimate 250 people in the UK are beginning to go blind every day. This equates to one of hers in six minutes. Whether a person is blind from birth or loses sight over time is a life-changing experience for individuals and their families and friends. It is imperative that these people have access to the same healthcare, work and other day-to-day settings as everyone else.

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funded by Roche Products Limited, the new toolkit builds on the findings of blindness steering and focus groups alongside healthcare professionals, employers, customer-facing businesses, and blindness organizations. Evidence gathered from this group shows that people who are blind now face unnecessary barriers when negotiating settings such as health care systems, workplaces, and other everyday situations.

Many participants said the health care system was the area of ​​their lives where they found the most barriers. This is often due to the fact that the systems and processes involved do not take into account the reality of living without sight, or that blind people may experience other health conditions. It’s because you haven’t.

“Feedback from our steering group and focus group indicated that access to healthcare is a particular issue for the visually impaired,” explained Diane Lightfoot, chief executive officer of the organization. increase. “One person said the hospital knew she was blind, but they constantly received letters in the mail to inform her of her appointments. We have also heard of people attending appointments or participating in tests for other conditions because they did not, and as a result did not make the appropriate adjustments.

“We hope that our new vision loss resource will enable health care professionals to provide the best possible care for people with vision loss. We hope to provide people with useful and actionable advice on how to navigate their journey,” adds Diane.

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blindness toolkit We aim to help blind people and those around them by addressing common concerns and providing advice on everyday situations. live blind; access to the healthcare system; Coping with blindness; getting help and information.

This new resource also provides advice and guidance to clinicians, health professionals, employers, and businesses on how to better meet the needs of people who have lost their sight.

Rick Williams contributed to the toolkit and shared his own experience with healthcare systems.

“I always feel like a condition rather than a person,” Rick reveals. It was incredibly disappointing to be told to ask my wife to take a stool sample for me.If that was an option given to me by someone over the phone, how would they react? Of course, that meant I didn’t get a colon cancer screening test until they redesigned it, so I could use it for years… later. “

While this situation has arisen, Rick also has a positive experience and believes that educational tools can help remove barriers.

Of course, not all interactions with the NHS have been negative, but they are the ones that stick in your mind. The same issues apply to the private health sector, ”explains Rick.

“The Sight Loss Toolkit provides great insight and reveals what could be done differently to make this easier,” adds Rick. “Blindness is a traumatic time for individuals and families alike, and anything that reduces trauma and supports engagement with health care professionals is great. It’s good to help.”

Resources created by diverse teams and people and organizations with visual impairments are now Business Impediment Forum Knowledge Hub.

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