Reflections on sight loss - RNIB

News
Health information is inaccessible, say patients
New research commissioned by RNIB has
found that patient safety, confidentiality
and choice are routinely compromised as
95 per cent of blind and partially sighted
people are never asked which reading
format they require by NHS staff providing
healthcare information. RNIB’s campaign to
change this situation, ‘Losing Patients’, was
launched in Sheffield in July with the
support of Sheffield Royal Society for the
Blind.
RNIB is working with local associations in
Sheffield and across the country to support
blind and partially sighted people to find
out about their legal rights in this area and
to feel empowered to ask for information in
a format they can read.
Links
➜ www.rnib.org.uk/losingpatients
Research also found that 72 per cent of
blind and partially sighted people reported
that they are unable to read information
from their GP, and 81 per cent are unable to
read medicine instructions and safety
notices. Details from appointment letters to
instructions for taking medication are
consistently provided in standard print.
Patients must then buy aids to read it or
lose their privacy and find someone else to
read it to them.
David Blunkett MP, Sheffield MP and Vice
President of RNIB, said: “I support RNIB’s
Losing Patients campaign because I believe
visual impairment isn’t the problem. The
problem is the culture of giving ordinary
print to people who cannot read it. No
patient should feel it’s too much trouble to
ask for accessible information or that a
special effort is needed to secure their right
to read.”
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