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Spirit of Manchester Story - Patient Support Service at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital "I've really benefited from the peer support"

26 Sep 2018 - 15:47 by helen.walker

Gail Brett is a Patient Support Officer for Henshaws, a charity that supports people of all ages with sight loss and a range of other disabilities across the North of England. Gail manages the Patient Support Service, which is based at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital. The service helps individuals to cope with the emotional and practical difficulties that a sight loss diagnosis can bring, right at the moment they need it most.

Gail said, “This week is very important for us because it is National Eye Health Week (24-30 September 2018) and helps to promote the importance of eye health and the need for regular sight tests for all. We are working very closely with the Stroke Association and the Macular Society to increase local awareness of the campaign and our volunteers are also staffing the information desk every day this week.

Every day is different but this morning has involved speaking to eight different service users and providing them with the support they require. I’ve seen some patients at their diagnosis stage and helped them to understand what this means and the potential impact this will have on their lives. This can for example mean the loss of their driving licence”.



The Patient Support Service is open to all and is focused on enabling people with sight loss to live independent and fulfilling lives. The service offers advice and training to enable service users and their families to build skills and develop confidence. Gail states that, “We are committed to linking people into the local community and to local sources of support, peer support and social activities. The service we provide is open 5 days a week and is accessible by appointment, drop-in, telephone, email and via direct referral from health specialists and consultants”.

The service also operates an information desk within the atrium at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital. The information desk is run by a team of volunteers who donate at least a day a week of their time to staff it and provide an initial access point to information and advice. Gail said, “We simply couldn’t provide the service without the dedication and commitment of our volunteers”.

When asked what the impact of the service was, Gail replied, “Many of our service users return for advice and support after a year or so and it’s great to see the positive change we have helped them to make following their sight loss. I have seen people’s confidence grow, people returning to employment, making new friendships and regaining their independence. It’s also great to see service users return and decide to help others through running services themselves such as one of our emotional support groups”.

One service user said “Meeting Gail at hospital gave me the confidence to face the difficulties I am having due to my sight loss. I have had a visual impairment for many years and just struggled on with it but after speaking to Gail I came along to the living with sight loss course and met other people and really benefited from the peer support and meeting other people with a sight loss.”

 

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