Direct Services

OUR SERVICES

Our Services

Hi-VisUK is delighted to offer a range of services designed to meet the needs of organisations and individuals who come into contact with people with DSI.

We can offer training and support tailored to the needs of customer facing teams across all sectors and to people with DSI, their family members and carers.

With training starting at less than £30 per person, training that is flexible to fit around your schedules, training that really works, why not contact us to discuss your requirements.

If you would like to talk with us about providing a direct service to your DSI customers on your behalf please do get in touch using the link below or complete the form on our contact page.

Local Authority Adult Social Care

As a Local Authority are you Care Act compliant regarding DSI? Are your people DSI trained to at least level three?

We can offer a range of tailored advice, accredited training, support and other services to help you become compliant:

  • Specialist Deafblind Assessor training for social work professionals.
  • E-learning and blended learning options – talk with us about an exclusive secure web address for your LA.
  • A review of your sensory provision including DSI and Care Act compliance.
  • Support for the named director responsible for meeting the statutory requirements of the Act.
  • CPD and workforce development needs around DSI with our unique accredited training and workshops.
  • Access to our DSI Identification and Specialist Assessment tools.
  • Supported deafblind self-assessment – working with individuals.
  • Market shaping – working with your local providers to increase DSI support is a Care Act requirement.
  • Carrying out specialist deafblind assessments on your behalf.
  • Provide full rehabilitation assessments with a written report and recommendations.
  • Offer DSI expertise, experience and advice to your team with our level six qualified staff.

To find out more about how we can work with you, support your compliance with the Care Act and other regulatory guidance, please get in touch.

Health Care Providers

As a NHS healthcare provider, as a commissioned healthcare provider, a GP group or practice, a Pharmacy, are you making the most of your people?

Do your policies, procedures and practice comply with the Care Act and expectations from your regulators? Do you meet the NHS Information Standard?

As people live longer more and more of your patients / clients will have a level of DSI that affects their mobility, their ability to access important information and to communicate.

Many of them will be unknown to you but are using your services everyday. Yet you are in a prime position to help identify a person with undiagnosed DSI and play your part in effect triage to social care advice and guidance. If they, and you, don’t know how DSI is affecting them it can affect key tasks such as their ability to manage medication or to make and attend appointments. Knowing how to work together with your local authority for people with DSI can make a world of difference.

Without DSI awareness and skills person-centred health care and health care services become more difficult.

Our bespoke services can include advising you on colour design and lighting and environmental noise to make the most of your patients and clients residual sight and hearing.
It can include vital and practical guidance on room layout and information design to help ensure you meet the everyday needs of every one in your care.

Talk to us about our bespoke advice and support, it starts at less than £30 per person for our unique accredited DSI training, use the contact form or email jane@hi-vis.org

Transport, Retail & Hospitality Sectors

Whether your business is a busy airport, a shop, restaurant or bar one thing you can be sure of is that many of your loyal customers will live longer and experience sight and hearing loss (DSI) that makes them reluctant to shop, travel or go out.

As those over 70 will soon account for 20% of the UK population, and one in three of those will have socially significant sight and hearing loss, can you afford to lose this valuable customer base?

Why not contact us to discuss how we can help you future-proof your business and retain and attract a growing population of older customers with DSI?

As people find out you are DSI friendly they will feel confident to walk through your door.

Our practical skills and awareness training, tailored to your business needs, will give your staff the confidence and ability to support your DSI customers.

Starting at less than £30 per person, our accredited courses can delivered on your site or near to you.

People with DSI & their Families

Our vision is of a DSI friendly country where family members and carers, trained to understand the impacts of DSI, support loved ones to live safely at home and to enjoy the activities they love, even if their sight and hearing worsens.

It is a vision where individuals with DSI are also supported with accessible information and guidance, and receive self-support skills training related to their DSI to maintain a satisfactory level of independence and dignity.

This is a real alternative to potentially unaffordable and rising costs of staying independent and care.

Why not contact us in complete confidence to discuss your family situation with one of our experienced, professional and caring team.

We can talk to you about aids and equipment, skills and adaptations, information and advice, or where to go for help that could make a real difference to your life.

To give you an idea of the range of benefits talking with us could bring, take a look at our rehabilitation support options below. 

Rehabilitation support – a range of options for health and care providers, businesses, families and individuals

Hi-VisUK can provide rehabilitation services to people with a visual impairment, a hearing impairment and people with dual sensory impairment to increase their independence, safety and quality of life.

Our assessments are carried out where the person lives, at home or in their care setting. For example our domiciliary low-vision assessments have important benefits over a clinical setting assessment including seeing the person in their natural daily environment, and, without the stress and effort of travelling to a hospital or optician.

These services can be provided to organisations supporting people, such as local authorities, health and social care providers, employment and leisure services, private sector service industries such as transport and retail.

Services can be on a contract basis for a service or as one-off individual assessment and rehabilitation input for patients, customers and clients. They can also be purchased directly and privately by the individual or their family.

Contact us to discuss how our services can help you.

  • Full rehabilitation assessments – includes a written assessment and detailed recommendations.
  • Orientation and mobility training – can range from familiarisation of local routes and environments, sighted guiding training, cane training and other mobility skills.
  • Low-vision training – a full low-vision assessment to find the right strength and type of low vision aid for that person, such as magnifiers. Training to use low vision aids, assistive devices, electronic devices. How to make best use of residual vision and hearing.
  • Functional assessments – this type of assessment is especially suitable for someone with learning disabilities who, for example, may struggle with a standard sight assessment. Our assessments include a full written report which helps the family, carer or support worker better understand the condition, its impact and how to support them.
  • Communication – advice and training. This can include for example, using Braille, moon; making best use of print; tactile methods such as ‘block’ and ‘deaf-blind manual’ plus a range of other ways to access information.
  • Technology – including assistive and adaptive technologies. CCTV equipment and electronic magnifiers, use of hearing support equipment such as TV listeners and portable listening devices that make conversations easier for those who have a hearing loss. Adapted telephones (big buttons, amplified speaker, etc), smart phones, tablets and computers.
  • Everyday living – kitchen skills advice and training, household management, best use of colour contrast and lighting (including full lighting assessments, recommendations and a plan for the individual or for local authority services and care providers). Personal care and daily living activities and tasks within the home.
  • Leisure activities – Advice, recommendations and training to assist people to continue doing things that are important to them, for example their hobbies, interests and recreational activities. This can include being shown how to continue taking part in crafts, sports, gardening, using leisure centres and socialising or local accessible activity groups for them to join.
  • Employment and continuing education – Recommendations and advice on finding and applying for work and about local opportunities for continuing their education, plus advice on making the work environment more accessible. Assessing the person and their workplace to make it as friendly and accessible as possible. These services can be purchased by the employer or offered to an individual directly.

Evaluation Findings: our training really works!

“It is also noted that almost 40% of respondents reported finding the training useful in their personal lives with family, friends or neighbours who are deafblind. This indicates added value to the training increasing the numbers of deafblind people being supported either informally or formally in a work setting.”

“Much of this equipment (to support an older deafblind person) is small scale, inexpensive and practical yet deafblind people appear to have little awareness of the availability of such equipment. The training has raised awareness of carers, support staff and others, with the result that deafblind people are beginning to benefit from the use of such equipment. This finding is now being confirmed by deafblind people.”

“…there are also early indications that the knowledge/experience and changing practices (as a result of the training) not only improve services and support but could ultimately create cost savings/save money…respondents reported that their organisation had been able to save money as a result of the knowledge gained in the training.”

“A large majority of respondents who have completed one or more of the training courses report positively as to the design, quality and content of the training. Respondents also report that the training has improved not only their knowledge and understanding but also their confidence in working with and supporting deafblind people. This increase in confidence appears to be pivotal in how they do this.”

Get in Touch

If you’re interested in this course please send us your name and email and we’ll get back to you with more details.