June 2009 Services for people who are blind or partially sighted in Kensington and Chelsea Sensory Team Phone: 020 7361 2968 Contents Eyesight ..................................................................2 The Blind and Partially Sighted Register .............3 Services provided by the Sensory Team .............5 Your rights and your records................................8 Comments, complaints and suggestions ............9 Visually impaired children...................................10 Children's education………………………………. 12 Employment and training ....................................14 Transport...............................................................19 Benefits .................................................................23 Housing.................................................................24 Useful organisations............................................27 Advocacy ..............................................................35 Leisure reading.....................................................36 Social groups and activities................................39 Voluntary organisations ......................................49 Dual sensory loss services .................................53 Specific eye conditions .......................................54 Useful contacts.....................................................57 1 Eyesight It is important for everyone to have regular eye tests, even if they have been diagnosed with an existing condition, as this can prevent further sight loss. Eye tests can also reveal information about your general health. Remember that only four in every 100 registered blind people have no sight. Many blind people still have some useful vision. 2 The Blind and Partially Sighted Register The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has an obligation to keep a register of people with a permanent and substantial visual impairment. Your consultant ophthalmologist will provide a Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI) recommending registration as a Sight Impaired/Partially Sight Impaired or Severely Sight Impaired/Blind person. The eye clinic or hospital should give you a copy of your CVI. Another copy is sent to the Sensory Team at Kensington Town Hall who will then give you the option of being placed on the register. You do not have to be registered to receive most services, but you do need to be in a position where you are registerable. Benefits of registration Being registered will help you to access certain benefits and entitlements, such as a freedom pass, which gives you free travel on tubes/buses, a reduction in your television licence fee and free eye tests. After receiving your CVI, a rehabilitation officer will arrange an appointment to visit you. They will provide you with information about services available including benefits, entitlements and details of other organisations that can offer help. 3 The rehabilitation officer will also discuss with you any difficulties/concerns you may have and if necessary refer you on to another worker, for example a social worker or occupational therapist. Low vision aids You can borrow low vision aids, for example magnifiers, from hospital Low Vision Clinics. Some people find these useful for short pieces of reading. 4 Services provided by the Sensory Team Helping you stay independent The team’s rehabilitation officer works with people of all ages. We can help you with: • Mobility and getting around safely • Daily living skills – adapting your kitchen skills and daily routines to your sight loss. This may include providing you with equipment. • Communications – help with reading/writing and making contact with services such as talking books. Social workers can help you to link into education, employment and leisure opportunities. They can help you to make plans to tackle problems, suggest useful services and contact other groups on your behalf. If your needs are more complex the social worker will complete a needs assessment (NHS and CC Act, 1990) with you. The social worker will discuss with you (and if you wish, your family and carers) what might be done to help and what options are available to ensure you stay as independent as possible. You or your carer can also request an assessment of your needs if you feel this would be helpful. The social worker will complete a care plan with you which gives an outline of the agreed support and advice you need. This will be reviewed on a regular basis. 5 There may be a charge for some home care services. We will complete a financial assessment to decide how much you may have to pay. People with other disabilities The Sensory Team works with people who also have other disabilities. It offers services to people who have both a significant and permanent visual and hearing loss. This is sometimes referred to a Dual Sensory Loss. Contacting the team To contact the Sensory Team, please call 020 7361 2638 or 020 7361 3188. You can also email [email protected] If you need to speak to someone in an emergency outside of office hours, you can contact the Out of Hours Duty Team: Tel: 020 7373 2227 Text: 020 7838 5360 Personal budgets Over the next two years, the majority of people who receive ongoing services through the Council’s Adult Social Care Department will be given a personal budget. A personal budget (sometimes called an individual budget) pays for your support. You can manage the budget yourself or have a family member, a broker agency (for example a local voluntary organisation such as Action 6 Disability Kensington and Chelsea) or the Council manage it on your behalf. However the money is managed, we will give you as much choice and control as possible over how it is spent. That means you can choose the services that suit you. Your social worker can give you more information. 7 Your rights and your records With your agreement, we will need to keep records of the support we are providing you with. These records may include: • basic information about you, such as address • contacts we have made with you, such as visits to your home • information about care and support you may need. The records are held on a computer, which is very secure and only authorised staff members have access to it. With your agreement we will provide details to organisations involved in your care. For example, we might want to work jointly with a hospital to arrange services for someone who is coming out of hospital. We will not share the information with anyone who is not involved in your care, without your permission, unless there are exceptional circumstances for example, where we have to share information by law. Ask us for a copy of the leaflet “Your records: what you can expect”, if you would like more information. 8 Comments, complaints and suggestions We welcome your comments on the services you receive from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Contact the Sensory Team or the Customer Care Team on 0800 587 0072. 9 Visually impaired children If you are concerned about your child's eyesight you may wish to talk to someone. There are lots of organisations that may be able to support you and your child. Your family doctor can link you with appropriate health services. The Royal Borough’s Family and Children’s Services Department also has a team for children with disabilities. The team may be able to offer support or advise you of other organisations that can help. For more information, please contact: Children with Disabilities Team 36 Oxford Gardens London W10 5UQ Tel: 020 7598 4640 The Rehabilitation Officer for visually impaired people also works with children. LOOK! (National Office) c/o Queen Alexandra College 49 Court Oak Road Harborne Birmingham B17 9TG Tel: 0121 428 5038 Fax: 0121 427 9800 Email: [email protected] Web: www.look-uk.org 10 LOOK! is a national organisation for families with visually impaired children. It offers information on education and other aspects of visual impairment. LOOK! produces a newsletter and has local branches across the country. West London Actionnaires Contact – Nicky Holloway Kensington Leisure Centre Walmer Road London W11 4PQ Tel: 0779 352 7031 Activities group that meets on the second and last Saturday of the month from 10am to 1pm. 11 Children’s education Children with a visual impairment can be educated in mainstream schools with support teachers who are usually provided by the education department. For children with complex needs, parents may have the option of sending them to specialist schools for the visually impaired where they can attend on a daily basis or board full-time, depending on the proximity to their home. You may be able to get further information about education by contacting one of the services listed below: Special Needs and Additional Needs Professional Development Centre 108a Lancaster Road London W11 1QS Tel: 020 7598 4874 Royal National Institute for the Blind Education Department 105 Judd Street London WC1H 9NE Tel: 020 7388 1266 Helpline: 0303 123 9999 Fax: 020 7388 2034 Email: [email protected] Web: www.rnib.org.uk 12 Specialist teachers If your child has been diagnosed as visually impaired, your GP will normally refer you in the first instance to Family Services and/or the peripatetic service. These are teachers who give practical support to visually impaired children (and their families) from birth, arrange nursery placements and advise on primary and secondary schooling. They work with the Education Department to ensure that the child’s special educational needs are being met. If you want to find out more, please call 020