Reflections on sight loss - RNIB

What would you lose?
Following certification at an eye clinic,
thousands of people with sight loss ‘fall
through the net’. Research points to
significant problems with the care and support
people receive when they first lose their sight.
A major new campaign by RNIB attempts to
address this situation by asking the public and
key decision-makers to consider what it means
to lose your sight. The campaign will also
highlight the fact that with the right support
in place, people can adjust to and accept a
diagnosis of sight loss.
The campaign is underpinned by a new report
from RNIB, ‘Lost and found’, which gives a
glimpse into the everyday lives of people who
have lost their sight.
The report has a
foreword by Sue
Townsend, author of
the ‘Adrian Mole’
books and herself
partially sighted,
who concludes:
“There is no magic
cure for blindness,
but there are things
that can be done to
make life easier for
blind and partially sighted people. RNIB aims
to do just that, and this is why I am fully
lending my support to this campaign.”
Links
➜ www.rnib.org.uk
Sue Townsend
Photo: Niall McDermid
New agreement between public and voluntary sectors
An agreement between the public and
voluntary sectors which outlines how they
should behave towards each other is being
overhauled to make it more concise and
reflect changes in policy and practice.
A draft version of the agreement, known as
the Compact, has been launched for
consultation following a debate which took
place last year. The draft is about a third of
the size of the original agreement and
replaces the original five codes of conduct (on
funding and procurement, volunteering,
consultation, community groups and minority
ethnic groups) with three sections on
involvement in policy development, allocating
resources, and commissioning and achieving
equality. The draft undertaking contains 96
undertakings for signatories, compared to
almost 500 in the existing Compact.
Andy Forster, head of policy at the
Commission for the Compact, said that the
Commission and Compact Voice, an
organisation representing the voluntary
sector, wanted the five codes to become
‘cross-cutting themes’ embedded in the new
agreement.
Consultation on the draft version closes on 12
October, and a final version will be published
in early November. Simon Blake, chair of
Compact Voice, said: “This is one of the best
opportunities we have to shape the ‘rules of
engagement’ between the Government and
the sector for the coming years.”
Links
➜ Commission for the Compact:
www.thecompact.org.uk
Compact Voice: www.compactvoice.org.uk
Office of the Third Sector:
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector
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