Two leading Scottish charities are joining forces in a pioneering new project to support people with sensory loss across Tayside.
The raft of new services being offered under the partnership between the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Scotland and the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) Scotland is being launched by public health minister Shona Robison in Dundee.
The new service is made up of two projects Hear to Help and Looking Forward which will provide vital support and encouragement to help reduce the loneliness and isolation experienced by hundreds of people living with sight or hearing loss.
Funding is being provided by the Scottish Government, while Hear to Help is supported by the Co-operative.
Ms Robison said the Scottish Government has supported the initiative through the £100,000 funding it provided to RNIB and RNID Scotland.
“This new service will ensure that all users are treated as individuals and have care plans tailored to meet their needs,” she said. “Ultimately it will provide the best care and support to an individual, allowing them to live their lives to the full and become active members of society.”
Ann-Marie Boyd from RNIB Scotland said, “This is a great opportunity to extend our services at grassroots level across Tayside. Our Looking Forward programme will help people come to terms with losing their sight and to go on to lead fulfilling lives.
“We will support those in work retain the jobs they’re in or find new ones.
“We are also keen to support those with learning disabilities and other complex needs whose sight loss might have gone undiagnosed. Our specialist team can offer practical advice and help.”Life-changingDelia Henry, director of RNID Scotland, said, “RNID Scotland’s Hear to Help project will provide life-changing support for NHS hearing aid users and help reduce demands on the local audiology departments for post-fitting rehabilitation services.
“Getting used to a hearing aid can be difficult and takes time, and this service will prove invaluable. Our committed team of volunteers is looking forward to running community drop-in sessions that will help build the confidence of hearing aid users.
“It’s amazing to see the tremendous impact a hearing aid can have in transforming a person’s ability to hear and live a full and active life.”
One family with experience of the difference the project can make to people with complex special needs and their carers provided a ringing endorsement of the launch.
Sandra Sapulek from Dundee cares for her 34-year-old daughter, Claire, and was full of praise for the work Ann-Marie Boyd has done with her.
She said the whole process is very different from the often intimidating atmosphere of hospital clinics.
“She was able to get a lot of information out of my daughter that a lot of people have never managed to do and has never been on the record before,” explained Mrs Sapulek. “Ann-Marie was very open and took us with her all the way, explaining everything she was doing and why.
“In my 34 years of experience that is really quite unusual. In the past I have been left not knowing why things have been done and what the results have been.”
Mrs Sapulek said the project was also a big step forward for people involved in the “ongoing, everyday slog” of being a carer.
Having someone else to share the organisational burden made all the difference, she said.
Photo used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user Katie Tegtmeyer.