RNIB says official response to Covid pandemic put blind and partially sighted people at risk

The report by Baroness Hallett released yesterday, (20 November) examines core UK decision-making and political governance and suggests all four nations' governments were too slow, too late and too muddled in their actions to contain the spread of the virus.

It starkly highlights the disproportionate deaths experienced by disabled people, and notes that it took many months for data to be collected and analysed to build understanding of this disparity. 

It states vulnerable and disadvantaged groups were affected by the restrictions introduced to control the virus but despite harm being foreseeable, the impact on them was not adequately considered in pandemic planning or when decisions were taken to respond to the virus.

Government communications are criticised as being too complicated for people to understanding causing many to refrain from seeking help, and inaccessible communications are highlighted being a particular problem for disabled people. Many blind people received inaccessible shielding letters, for instance

Sophie Dodgeon, Head of Campaigns and Public Affairs at The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), said: “Today's report lays bare how the UK government too often failed to recognise and respond to the needs of disabled people, including blind and partially sighted people.

“Prior to the pandemic, Baroness Hallett notes that planning ought to have taken place, as to how disabled people would be protected from both Covid-19 and the impact of restrictions such as a lockdown. 

“Once the pandemic took root, blind and partially sighted people were affected not only by the virus itself but by the measures introduced to respond to the pandemic, yet it took months for the need for accessible communications (braille, large print, audio etc) to be understood. One year into the pandemic we are told the UK Government’s Disability Unit remained concerned about a lack of disability data even to understand the impact on different groups.

“We strongly welcome the recognition that all laws and guidance must be in accessible formats. We urge the UK government and devolved administrations to improve their understanding of the effects of sight loss and account for this in policy making and future pandemic and disaster planning. Never again must decisions affecting all aspects of people’s daily lives be made without involving blind and partially sighted and disabled people from the very start.” 

Watch how people with sight loss were affected by the coronavirus pandemic here

Blind and partially sighted people were disproportionately affected  by the pandemic, with rates of death for those with a vision impairment aged 30 to 69 years 8.4 times higher than for those without any sensory impairment. 

Health updates and announcements about lockdowns, shielding and vaccines were often inaccessible to blind and partially sighted people and changes to daily routines such as transport and shopping restrictions hit them hard.

RNIB was formally part of the UK Covid Inquiry's proceedings as a member of the Disability Charities Consortium for the Inquiry’s third module looking at the impact on healthcare.

This was the second of ten expected pandemic reports.