General Information

Sensory impairments are the commonest cause of moderate and severe disability, and over the past 20 years or so many reports have identified the problems which these lead to and has made recommendations for service improvements. In general however there has been very little action, possibly because of

• The large number of different services involved.
• The variety of organisations and agencies responsible.
• Lack of connectedness between organisations and their services.
• Lack of understanding by professionals of each others’ roles.
• No one person or organisation understanding or having responsibility for the ‘service’ as a whole.

As a result, people with sensory impairment are largely unaware of the services and other benefits available to them, and the processes for acquiring them are obscure. For most people the main need is to provide help and support with normal activities of everyday life at an early stage – before life (eg reading, cooking, moving around) becomes unduly restricted. However the gateway to those services and benefits is often through a medical/health service route which is complicated and results in considerable delay – the result being that people prematurely become unnecessarily and possibly irreversibly handicapped by their condition.

With the advent of the Disability Discrimination Act, disability has become increasingly important on the agenda of public services. In particular, reports such as Sensing progress, Audiology in Crisis, Insights and Improving Lives have highlighted the importance of sensory impairment and the current difficulties that are experienced by people with a sensory impairment. Common to these reports is the theme of fragmented service provision and the need for better joint working between health and social services to secure better outcomes for service users and their carers.

In Scotland some 725,000 people are estimated by the RNID to be deaf or heard of hearing: some one in seven of the population. The incidence of deafness increases with age significantly, so much so that it is estimated that some 55% of those over 6o years will have difficulty hearing, increasing to over 90% after the age of 80 years.

People with a dual sensory impairment face particular difficulties and are not clearly catered for by either services for the deaf or visually impaired and there is thus a danger that they fail to be helped by either. At least 40 people per 100,000 are deafblind. Many are not known to their local social services authority and of those who are, not all are identified as having a dual sensory impairment or are in receipt of the appropriate services.

Reports

Creating Workplace opportunities for blind and partially sighted

Review of Community Eye Services in Scotland

Benefits

Financial benefits and Entitlements for Visually Impaired

Benefits and Entitlements for Visually Impaired

Common eye conditions

Useful links

Towards a model service for people with impaired vision

RNIB Scotland

Scottish Council On Deafness

Deaf Cancer Wise

DeafBlind Scotland

Sense

Sign Language Interpreting Service

Hayfield Deaf Support Services Scotland