Registering your sight loss
Every council must hold a register of people living in their area who are sight impaired and severely sight impaired.
Your council will receive a copy of your CVI, and should make contact with you within two weeks, to talk to you about registration and the benefits of being registered.
Your council may also have an agreement with another organisation to contact you on their behalf about registration. So don’t worry if it’s someone else that contacts you on your council’s behalf.
At this point your assessment should start. Under the Care Act 2014, your council has a duty to assess what support you may need and you are entitled to an assessment whether or not you choose to be registered.
Care and Support Needs
Vision Rehabilitation Support
Newcastle City Council offer a Rehabilitation Service for Visually Impaired people, under their Community Health and Social Care Sector. This is a free service and should be made available for a long as you require it. You do not have to be registered to receive this service. Types of support include:
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- Explaining the Certificate and Registration process.
- Helping you to understand and coming to terms with you eye condition.
- Advice and training to remain independent within the home and look after yours self safely.
- Ensuring you have access to training, education and learning opportunities.
- Identify and recommend equipment/vison aids that could be useful to you personally and demonstrate how to use appropriately.
- Advise where you can obtain/purchase vision aids.
- Referral for benefit support
- Travel training to become a more confident traveller
- Provide information on local support groups and social activities that may be of interest
- Put you in contact, where necessary, with other parts of the council, local low vision services and organisation within your local community
The following is a link to the Vision Impairment Rehabilitation webpage
Newcastle City Council VI Rehab
On-going care and support
If you have already received vision rehabilitation support, but think that your needs are not being met and require some more help you may be eligible for longer term support. You can ask your council for a Care and Support needs assessment. The government has set a minimum criteria that people must meet in order to qualify for ongoing care. You will be assessed on the following three stages:
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- You have needs that arise from a physical or mental impairment or illness.
- As a result of your needs you require support to meet two or more from a list of specified outcomes.
- There is a significant impact on your wellbeing.
During your assessment they will ask you how you manage on a day to day basis cover various tasks from personal care to looking after your home and getting out and about etc.
If you are eligible for support your council will provide you with a package of care, or the funding to arrange it yourself (this is called a Direct Payment). Depending on your income you may have to pay a contribution towards this.
If your council hasn’t contacted you, and you feel you might be ‘at risk’ without this help, we strongly recommend you contact your council as soon as possible.
The following is a link to the Care and Support Assessment webpage
Newcastle City Council Care and Support Assessment
Help for those supporting you
Under the Care Act 2014, carers are entitled to an assessment of their own needs to help them to continue to care. The following is a link to People with Caring Responsibilities webpage
Newcastle City Council People with Caring Responsibilities
To get in touch to discuss or arrange a Visual Rehabilitation/Care and Support or Careers assessment you can contact Community Health and Social Care on (0191) 278 8377 Monday – Friday 8am – 5pm. Alternatively you can email them at scd@newcastle.gov.uk . The following is a link for Community Health and Social Care webpage