Sight-loss charity RNIB Scotland launches winter initiative to combat Covid lockdown challenges
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A nationwide lockdown during the winter months could hit some particularly hard - especially the elderly and socially isolated, the national sight loss charity RNIB Scotland has warned.
In response, it has launched a wide-ranging winter programme of social and leisure activities for blind and partially sighted people across Scotland to take part in over the phone. These range from book groups and quizzes, to discussion groups on films and football, to video-gaming or just general chats.
"Lockdown can affect those who are more isolated or unable to fully enjoy visual media like television or dvds particularly hard," said director James Adams. "We've put in place a choice of activities among which we hope there will be something for everyone. Many of our members are older and may live alone, so we want to make sure they don't feel cut off and alone."
Currently, around 178,000 people are living in Scotland with significant sight loss. Although most are over the age of 60, around 3500 children and young people also have a visual impairment.
The RNIB Talking Books library, the largest audio-collection in Europe, lends out thousands of titles free of charge to people with sight loss. The charity also provides advice and support on using new technology, many items of which now include accessibility features for those with a visual impairment.
The Covid-19 crisis has prompted a greater sense of social cohesion and solidarity, said Mr Adams, but it has also exposed and exacerbated some of the barriers that blind and partially sighted people still face.
Access to online shopping slots, a lack of essential health information in formats such as audio and braille, and confusion over whether social distancing allowed for blind and partially sighted people to still be guided added to the distress many felt.
Adams said: "It is now more essential than ever that we learn the lessons from 2020 and ensure no one falls through the safety net.
"During the first lockdown we negotiated set online shopping slots for people with sight loss, worked with public bodies to ensure vital information put out was available in formats accessible to everyone, and clarified the rules on guiding people with a visual impairment.
"These gains must be reinforced now we have returned to another nationwide lockdown."
The RNIB Helpline is available on 0303 123 9999, information continues to be broadcast on RNIB's Connect Radio station, while the charity's resource centre, selling aids and equipment, remains open for orders online.
Its Eye Clinic Liaison Officer service offers practical advice and reassurance to people coming to terms with sight loss, and help and information is also available on welfare benefits.
Details of RNIB Scotland social groups and other services can be found at www.rnib.org.uk/scotland
