BucksVision visit
Picture shows a range of innovative equipment BucksVision supplies to its beneficiaries such as reading tools and a cup that can’t be knocked over.
Visit to BucksVision
I visited BucksVision on 8th August 2019, to assess a grant application towards their Eye Clinic Liaison Officer for Amersham and Chesham Hospital. While there, I met Steve Naylor, Chief Executive and Lynn Hitchcox, Fundraising Manager.
About BucksVision
BucksVision is a local charity supporting people with sight loss across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. It’s over 100 years old and is affiliated to RNIB.
People lose their sight for a wide variety of reasons, including age-related and genetic conditions and eye-health problems. However, losing your sight does not necessarily mean losing your independence. Nor does it mean that you need to struggle alone or lose contact with people.
BucksVision offers a wide range of services delivered by a small, dedicated staff team and a fantastic team of volunteers working across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. These include an Eye Clinic Liaison Officer and Hospital Volunteers who provide practical advice and emotional support at eye clinics.
The Charity supports people through all the stages and severity of sight loss. The staff and volunteers understand the practical consequences and emotional impact of sight loss. The Charity also runs practical courses, social activities and offers support at home.
The role of the Eye Clinic Liaison Officer
Chief Executive, Steve Naylor, explained that when a person is diagnosed with a condition such as macular degeneration and glaucoma there is a great need for an Eye Clinic Liaison Officer, to provide practical advice and support.
The Eye Clinic Liaison Officer at Stoke Mandeville Hospital initially supports 150 people year and BucksVision helps 450 clients a year. Unfortunately, Amersham and Chesham Hospitals do not have a Liaison Officer and Steve hopes that if funding can be raised for this position then the NHS would provide the funds from year three.
This is a small charity that has spent the last 40 years working out of a Portakabin that provides a great service to the blind community in their local area.
To learn more about BucksVision, please visit their website:
