Service Delivery
There were 1,803 new referrals to NCBI in 2010, bringing the total number of people on our database to 14,976 by the end of the year. There was a 13% increase in the total number of people who accessed our services from the previous year. 432 of our new referrals were outside of traditional registration criteria, a substantial increase, 38%, on the same figure for 2009. The majority of new referrals, 57%, were over the age of 76. The increase in the number of older people requiring our services was also evident in the overall age profile of those on our database, with 11.5% aged between 66-75 years and a further 50% over the age of 76.
NCBI explored new ways of meeting the challenge of addressing the needs of older service users, which is set to increase significantly over the next number of years. HSE funding is currently allocated on the basis of demographics and numbers of people on the National Physical and Sensory Disability Database, which only applies to people under 65-years-of-age. If this continues to be the case there is a concern that NCBI could lose funding for services for these people and will rely heavily on other sources of fundraised income for core service delivery.
As NCBI’s profile increases and as more people develop age-related eye conditions, expectations of our service will change and our role in people’s lives will increasingly be to assist them in identifying their needs and how they can best be met. NCBI must work smarter to ensure that those who require our service most are prioritised and those who require minimal but important input have their needs met efficiently and effectively. Early intervention with information, counselling and low vision services results in more positive outcomes for people as their sight loss continues to impact on their lives.
It is usually the individual’s coping capacity, rather than the extent of their sight loss, that makes the most significant difference to how they manage loss of sight. There will always be people for whom a variety of circumstances make it more difficult to cope with life than others and as we streamline and develop services around the majority, NCBI must always make sure to be available to and offer services with appropriate safeguards to those who are most vulnerable.
A number of policies relating to risk management were developed, including: volunteer policy, adult protection policy, supervision policy, complaints policy, safety statement and child protection policy, which are in line with HSE standards.
Activities
NCBI initiated a number of new developments such as the low vision service for children in Limerick, IT training for parents and a pre-vocational workshop, which resulted in peer support for parents. EU funding made it possible for NCBI to participate in projects that focused on early childhood development, employment and the production of an archive of the lives of people living with sight loss in Ireland. Each week 16 children availed of the services of the early learning centre in Dublin. NCBI’s Dublin-based counselling service for individuals, couples and families offered an average of 10 sessions per week.
A total of 1,161 people were assessed by our low vision service around the country. This service provides an assessment by an optometrist, who may prescribe low vision aids, and a chance to meet with a community resource worker and a technology trainer. The people who avail of this service have significant problems with their eyesight and can no longer see well enough to carry out every day tasks like reading, using the computer and household chores.
Meanwhile mobility training constituted less than 1.5% of service delivery and related to only 190 out of the 8,886 people we worked with. The vast majority of people we meet do not require long cane training but they no longer see well enough to drive their car and describe difficulty doing some of the other things they enjoyed before sight loss impacted on their lives.
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation training is offered to people individually and in groups throughout the country. In Dublin the Rehabilitation Training Centre offered training to 28 people on a part-time basis. In April the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) programme was piloted with four students who attended evening classes at the centre. In collaboration with St Joseph’s Centre for the Visually Impaired, the training centre has been developing a new FETAC level 1 programme which was submitted for validation in December 2010. Both of these new developments may open up opportunities for service delivery in other areas of the country.
Employment support
The employment support service received on average five direct new referrals from community resource workers (CRWs) per month and many indirect referrals from service users, training institutions, government services and employers. NCBI provided recommendations regarding employment, training and technology or potential supports that assist in getting or keeping a job. Given the level of staff cutbacks many organisations face, there is an increased demand for retention advice, awareness, reintegration, conflict resolution, mediation and advice on legislation from employers. Therefore it is even more crucial to identify creative solutions to assist individuals both seeking employment and already in employment to make educational, training and occupational choices.
Social activities
NCBI offers day-time activities from three centres, two in north Dublin; the Iona Centre and Hill Street and one in Lochrann, Wexford. In 2010, 92 people attended Iona on a regular basis, 42 attended Hill Street for activities focused on the interests of people over 75-years and Lochrann was attended by 25 people from the South East. Group based activities in these centres included: fitness, yoga, pottery, computers, photography, cookery, crafts, music appreciation, quizzes, book clubs, style and make up, art, bowling, fishing and a men’s group that engaged in a boat building project.
Other social activities undertaken included day trips, short-term group activities, locally organised events and breaks away, which are often with specifically targeted groups based on gender, age, living situation and training requirements. Peer support is reported by participants to be a significant aspect of the success of these activities.
In March, NCBI’s Dun Laoghaire book club attended the Ennis Book Festival and received the Book Club of the Year Award. Since then it has expanded to three separate groups, which continue to be supported by the local libraries.
Peer support
Unfortunately 2010 saw the demise of the peer counselling service. However NCBI still recognises the valuable contribution that people who experience sight loss can make by supporting others emotionally, socially and with practical information. As part of our consultation with people we will be exploring new and ways supporting old ways of making this possible into the future.