At Focus Birmingham we pride ourselves in our understanding and support of people with sight loss, but we also appreciate that we cannot do this work alone. We work in partnership with many other national and local organisations to ensure that the services we offer remain up to date and relevant. In addition to this, we use our skilled and specialist team to help train the professionals of the future to ensure that people with visual impairment continue to receive the high quality of services that they deserve. A few examples of this partnership work are detailed below.

 

Aston University: Optometry BSc(Hons)  

Supporting people with low vision is a core competency for all optometrists. Focus deliver a bespoke training package to the final year optometry students from Aston University to ensure that they graduate with an appreciation of both the needs of people with sight loss and also how best to access services that may be able to provide the best care and support for their patients.

 

Birmingham City University:  Rehabilitation Work (Visual Impairment) – FdSc  

BCU provide one of the only Visual Rehabilitation Worker programmes of its kind in the UK. Students frequently graduate to work as Rehabilitation workers for the visually impaired, providing essential work to allow people with sight loss to continue with many aspects of daily life.

For the last 6 years Focus have written and delivered two full modules of training for the undergraduates. In the first year Focus teach the students about the anatomy of the eye and the impact of eye disease. In the second year Focus deliver the module of the course helping the students learn and understand how to prescribe and manage near magnifying devices.

 

Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)  

The RNIB provides a raft of National supporting services for people with sight loss. Locally the RNIB offers Focus expert advice and support on a range of issues from complex benefit advice through to supporting frameworks for delivering our living with sight loss courses. The RNIB specialist advice allows Focus to remain up to date and ensure our services remain standardised with the best services across the country.

 

Macular Society   

The Macular Society is a national charity providing high-quality help and advice for people with Macular disease. We run two local Macular Society coffee morning groups in the city to help keep people with macular disease up to date with latest developments but also offer citizens a social event to meet new friends and exchange ideas. Our work alongside the macular society has resulted in the Department winning the coveted Macular Society Optometrist of the Year Award

 

National Professional Bodies: College of Optometrists Association of British Dispensing Opticians 

Our professional staff have many years of experience in delivering services to help people with low vision. This specialism is recognised by the national professional bodies regulating optometrists and dispensing opticians who have asked us on several occasions to write and provide bespoke training and continuing professional development packages either at conference, in professional publications or local training events.

 

We appreciate that the needs of people with sight loss are many and varied and we continue to welcome opportunities to learn from, or support, other organisations that would help broaden and develop our work with people with sight loss in Birmingham. 

To find out more get in touch here