Every day in Wales, five people start to lose their sight. Despite well documented links with social exclusion, depression and suicide, many patients leave the hospital eye clinic on the day of their diagnosis with no emotional support to help them to come to terms with their sight loss.
Now, thanks to a grant from the Big Lottery Fund, RNIB Cymru is expanding the Eye Clinic Liaison (ECLO) service to cover the whole of Wales. The service has already been running in some areas for a number of years, offering emotional support and practical help to people at the point of diagnosis.
Sarah Rochira, Director of RNIB Cymru, said: "For many people, the day they're told they're going to lose their sight is the loneliest day of their lives. The expansion of this vital service means that for thousands more people, from all parts of Wales, there will be someone there for them on that day: someone to talk to, someone to answer their questions and concerns, someone to help them access all the services and benefits they may need.
"Given that we know older people with sight loss are almost three times more likely to experience depression than people with good vision, 70 per cent of people registered blind or partially sighted are under-claiming benefits, with many consequently living in unnecessary poverty, and that by 2050 the number of people with sight loss in the UK is predicted to double, putting enormous strain on already over-stretched eye clinics, the expansion of this valued and valuable ECLO service could not be more timely."
Please contact us for more information.