Reports - Wales

RNIB Cymru’s research highlights the impact the ongoing cost of living crisis is having on blind and partially sighted people in Wales. Financial challenges caused by the additional but unavoidable cost of sight loss have left people more isolated and less able to make ends meet. The RNIB Cymru Social Change team has created tailored recommendations for Welsh Government and local authorities based on feedback from over 100 blind and partially sighted people across the nation.

RNIB Cymru’s annual Impact Report showcases the work and achievements of our team in Wales from April 2022 to March 2023. It includes information about our campaigns, services and events we have hosted across the nation, with a focus on how we have continued to break down barriers for blind and partially sighted people in Wales.

RNIB Cymru has launched a report: Being There - Developing an understanding of the essential role of the Eye Clinic Liaison Officer (ECLO) in Wales.

Patients tend only to come into contact with ECLOs (now Eye Care Liaison Officers) because they have been diagnosed with a sight-threatening condition. By featuring their difficult, yet inspiring, stories in this publication, RNIB Cymru hopes to help secure the future of the service for everyone who needs it.

RNIB Cymru has launched a report on the impact of the ECLO - Eye Clinic Liaison Officer (now Eye Care Liaison Officer) service in Wales.

In the year covered by this report, the service supported 6,730 patients in a variety of ways: everything from providing information on the patient's eye condition through to referral to specialist services such as RNIB Cymru's welfare rights service, employment service and education and transitions services for children and young people.

The report sets out the positive difference that the ECLO service makes, both for individuals and for eye clinic staff. ECLOs ensure people newly diagnosed with sight loss have access to all the information and support they need. The service can also help to mitigate some of the negative impact associated with sight loss such as poor mental health, increased risk of falls and loss of independence.

This report was a collaboration between RNIB Cymru and the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University. It was funded by Welsh Government through the Children's Low Vision Project.

This report shows that as a society, we are neglecting the eye care of pupils in special schools. The National Service Framework specifies that children and young people with disabilities need early diagnosis or identification of difficulties and early intervention (source: WAG 2005). For instance, community dentists visit special schools to assess pupils and provide treatment for any problems identified – but there is no such provision for eye care.