If you or someone you know is visually impaired, it's important to know what rights you or they have in terms of:
- a community (social) care services needs assessment
- access to services (including vision rehabilitation support) after your assessment
- the information provided to you about your care and treatment.
Community (social) care services needs assessment
Under section 12A(1) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, local authorities in Scotland have an obligation to assess a person’s needs for community (social) care services where the person appears to be, in the local authority's view, in need of such services.
If you think you need an assessment, the first step is to contact your local authority's social services team and ask for a needs assessment to be carried out. If you’re unable to make the call yourself or are uncomfortable with doing this, then someone can do it on your behalf instead. The RNIB website has a helpful guide to accessing social care services through your local authority.
Before and/or after your needs assessment is carried out, you may be offered vision rehabilitation support by your local authority or health and social care partnership.
Vision rehabilitation support is delivered by vision rehabilitation officers (often called ROVIs or Rehabilitation Officers for Visually Impaired), and is designed to help people with sight loss maintain their independence through learning or relearning certain activities.
Vision rehabilitation support can include:
- orientation and mobility skills, such as sighted guide techniques with you and your family, mobility training in new and unfamiliar areas and white cane training
- independent living skills, such as cooking, cleaning, looking after yourself and taking part in leisure activities
- communication skills, such as using a keyboard or mobile phone, using aids such as writing frames and labelling devices and learning braille.
Following your needs assessment, if you're identified as being eligible for care and/or support you should be fully involved in co-creating a care plan to clarify how your needs will be met.
Social care services can help support you to lead an independent life. It can include the following types of help:
- Vision rehabilitation support
- Provision of equipment, aids and minor adaptations to the home
- Personal care at home
- Domestic help
- Answering correspondence
- Help with shopping
- Services in day centres
- Care in residential or nursing homes.
Information provided to you about your care and treatment
The Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 and its accompanying Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilities outline that NHS patients have the right to be given information about their care and treatment in a format or language that meets their needs. Further information on the Charter can be found on NHS Inform.