Thousands of blind and partially sighted people remain #OutOfSight in the hidden scandal of vision rehabilitation
Charmaine walking along uneven pavement, using her white cane to navigate
More than a quarter (26 per cent) of local authorities in England are leaving blind and partially sighted people waiting more than a year for a vision rehabilitation assessment; more are waiting several months for the support they’re legally entitled to.
RNIB’s new research reveals vision rehabilitation to be a forgotten, under-resourced social care service, operating without scrutiny – resulting in a patchwork of provision of care across England.
We are calling on all UK political parties, in this General Election year, to commit to ensuring people with sight loss get the emotional and practical support they need, when they need it. Take a minute to sign our petition and support the #OutOfSight campaign.
Vision rehabilitation, an adult social care service funded through local authorities, is a structured programme of support and guidance for blind and partially sighted people; it helps them live confidently and safely. When done well, vision rehabilitation equips people with new ways to stay independent: getting from A to B safely, adapting their workplace to stay in work, cooking and continuing to enjoy hobbies.
Yet the reality is stark. Our new findings show that 86 per cent of local authorities in England left people waiting more than 28-days to explore their needs; this means people are left without the support they’re entitled to, at risk of physical accidents and injuries as well as mental health crises.
Everyone with sight loss has a legal right to support, yet too many people are falling through the cracks - either having to wait months or not even being able to access a service in their area at all.
People like Charmaine, who faced a long wait to receive support, are left feeling trapped at home: “It is really worrying and concerning. I’ve had to fight for everything I’ve got."
This failure cannot continue. Will you sign our petition and call on all UK political parties to commit to ensuring people with sight loss get the emotional and practical support they need, when they need it?
We need national oversight of services to ensure they are consistently delivered to the required standard. Without action, people like Natalie will continue to wait for long periods of time without the support they are entitled to: “I eventually did phone social services and waited six months for contact. I felt very unsafe and imprisoned and I could not even go out or get on a bus."
“It was at a time when I had just moved to a new area which I did not know very well. I was not well at that time. I had to cross a busy road and a car came round the bend and started hooting at me. I was about three quarters of the way across the road and I suddenly felt very, very trapped."
Please sign our petition today
