clinicians – Nystagmus Network

New CET e-learning enhances skills and accessibility when assisting patients with sight loss

A new CET e-learning course for optical professionals to develop practical skills when dealing with patients with a visual impairment has been launched by award-winning social businessman and Nystagmus Network trustee, Dan Williams of Visualise Training and Consultancy.

‘Seeing Beyond the Eyes’ provides clinical and non-clinical staff with the practical skills and confidence needed to effectively assist people and highlights how to refer patients to vital support services.

It covers sight loss facts and myths, eye conditions and their effects, emotional impacts, certification and registration, referrals to support services, accessibility, assistive technologies, communication, mobility and sighted guiding.

Having lived with sight loss from childhood, Dan fully appreciates the challenges and thanks to his lived and professional experiences, he understands what adjustments are needed and has designed the course accordingly.

He says, “Clinicians would often use medical jargon when talking to me rather than using terms I could understand. Also, there is often a fear of offending someone by offering assistance, but the skills gained by learners gives them the skills and confidence to overcome this.

Eyecare professionals are generally the first point of contact in a person’s sight loss journey so have an important role in empowering patients to access the support they need from organisations such as Nystagmus Network to deal with the initial shock of a serious diagnosis so they can move their lives forward.”

The course provides an ideal induction or refresher tool which can be completed online from any location and qualifies learners for 3 CET points when applicable.

The cost is £40 per learner and it can be completed online from any location.

Click here to find out more and enrol

For enquiries, please email [email protected]

The Nystagmus Network is pleased to share this guest post from our friends at Visualise Training and Consultancy. The new guide ‘Seeing Beyond The Eyes’ includes details of the charity’s services and our contact details so that patients with nystagmus can find us easily for information and support.

Eye care and Health Professionals armed with information to improve lives of patients with sight loss

A free resource pack for eye care and health professionals containing valuable information on sight loss support services, charities, equipment and referral pathways has been produced by Visualise Training and Consultancy with the support of Thomas Pocklington Trust.

The pack complements the ‘Seeing Beyond the Eyes’ CET workshops currently touring the UK which raise awareness of the difficulties faced by patients diagnosed with irreversible sight loss. It contains valuable information on local sight loss charities, Eye Care Liaison Officers (ECLO),Vision Rehabilitation Workers, low vision assessment services and Habilitation Workers. It also lists national organisations supporting people with sight loss and condition specific charities. Daniel Williams of Visualise said “It is vital patients with sight loss are referred immediately to sight loss services that can enable their independence and help them deal with a difficult time in their life. However Optical professionals can’t refer if they don’t know who they are referring hence why we have created such a resource pack and training roadshow.At the age of 8, I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a gradual loss of sight, and had consultations with Dispensing Opticians, Optometrists and Ophthalmologists and at no point was I referred to any support services which is why I am so passionate about empowering eye care professionals with the awareness of what is available for people with sight loss to live independent lives”

Links to professional resources are also included such as the Government’s Access to Work grant scheme, an A – Z list of eye conditions and Thomas Pocklington Trust’s guide to designing a home for someone with sight loss.

Charles Segal, Dispensing Optician from D and H Hantman Optometrists said “It was one of the best CET courses, I have attended. “I had no idea that there was such a range of services, it made me fully aware of where we can send people and not just refer to the eye hospital. It was a highly informative meeting where the attendees actually met people who are dealing with or have dealt with people with sight loss,it was the first time I have actually met someone who has Retinitis Pigmentosa. It was moving and inspiring to hear how people with low vision get-on with their lives. The course has given me the confidence to help people who enter my practice and give them advice. The details of suppliers of low vision aids and daily living solutions are also invaluable for people facing sight loss during their transition to a different way of life”.

The pack can be downloaded free of charge by clicking here

For more information on Visualise Training and Consultancy visit their website