Council wins £500,000 for sight loss support

Hounslow residents visit Kew Gardens with Middlesex Association for the Blind

Hounslow Council in partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and the Middlesex Association for the Blind (MAB) have been awarded £500,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund to benefit Hounslow residents with sight loss. The lottery-funded scheme is the first to employ RNIB eyecare liaison officers (ECLOs) in the community. 

Hounslow, in West London, will use the three-year grant to supply:

• Around 100 events, talks and workshops
• An increase in the number of Certificates of Visual Impairment (CVI), which help people to get rehabilitation, mobility training and assistive devices
• Two ECLOs, bridging health and social services to support patients
• Emotional and practical advice, guidance and support, including digital training, for 2,500 people a year
• A project manager

Cllr Shivraj Grewal, chair of the council’s right to sensory equality partnership, said: “This is a hugely important development. Together with RNIB, Middlesex Association for the Blind and the Royal Society for Blind Children, we have prioritised funding based on need and we’re very excited about how this will benefit Hounslow’s blind and partially sighted community over the next three years.”

RNIB chief operating officer, David Clarke, added: “Being told that you are losing your sight can be very overwhelming. ECLOs are an essential part of RNIB’s services, providing tailored support at a time when people need it the most. 

“This funding will enable us to pilot a new way of working by taking our ECLOs out into the community. We are excited to partner with London Borough of Hounslow and Middlesex Association for the Blind, to ensure people with sight loss in Hounslow benefit from a joined up, holistic and seamless pathway of support, from the point of diagnosis and beyond.”

Sahib Singh, chief executive, Middlesex Association for the Blind, commented: “We have been supporting people with visual impairments in Hounslow and beyond for the past 100 years. While many people make use of our services, there are also many who slip through the cracks after sight loss diagnosis, and suffer in silence behind closed doors. Our hope is that through this partnership, we will reach them.”

The RNIB has been delivering the ECLO service for almost 30 years across the UK. Half of ECLOs have sight loss. They are part of the sight loss advice service, which provides practical and emotional support over the phone, face-to-face at many hospital eye clinics, or through online information. To find out more, visit RNIB.