Blind and Partially Sighted Pensioners: High Risk of Accidents and Poverty

Thousands of older people are being left to cope alone when their sight fails, and at an increased risk of accidents, poverty and social exclusion because of inadequate state support according to a report published today by British Gas and RNIB.03/03/2004

 
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The report, commissioned for the ‘here to HELP' programme, is based on the first ever national survey focusing exclusively on the quality of life experienced by older people who lose their sight. ‘here to Help' aims to improve the quality of life for 500,000 poor households in Britain by tackling some of the issues at the heart of household poverty.

While the plight of pensioners is well documented, the findings in the report entitled 'Unseen' highlight the additional suffering endured when people lose their sight. Until now this has largely been hidden or ignored.

Key findings of the report reveal: Accidents because of sight loss are common. Forty-four percent of people had experienced an accident or fall as a direct result of their sight loss, and went without vital and inexpensive equipment which could have prevented accidents. The risk of accidents is compounded by a lack of training to get around safely and confidently after sight loss. For example, seventy percent of people had never heard of mobility training, let alone received it.

Seventy-three percent of people interviewed for the report are living in or on the margins of poverty, making those who lose their sight three times more likely to be living in financial difficulty than sighted pensioners. This situation is compounded by ignorance of available benefits with thirty-nine percent of people claiming to be unclear about their benefits entitlements.

Even though eighty-three percent of those interviewed were registered as blind or partially sighted, less than half had received an assessment of their needs.

Given that the population is ageing rapidly, RNIB argues urgent measures are needed to address the crisis in care for older people with sight problems. The association is calling for every person with sight loss to receive an assessment of needs along with rehabilitation and mobility training. Apart from that, targets should be set to increase take-up of Pension Credit and Disability Benefits. Furthermore, changes to the rules for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) have to be made so that people who are registered as blind can qualify for the higher rate mobility component of DLA and can claim DLA after the age of 65. And, finally, the RNIB calls for a reintroduction of annual health checks for the over 75s.

- Find out more about the here to help program and the RNIB on www.rnib.org.uk

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