Hartlepool Borough Council is a key partner with Hi-VisUK in the development of a new pioneering co-production model for identification and support of older people living with dual sensory loss.
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Hi-VisUK will continue the investment by our sister project, In Good Hands, to build the capacity of Sunderland and North Durham Royal Society for the Blind to become a dual sensory service for their members and local older people in Sunderland and north County Durham.
Their volunteers and staff are being supported with training in deafblind awareness and how to use our identification tool. This will enable them to identify older people with the condition and provide appropriate support.
Older people identified as having a dual sensory loss will be supported by the Society’s volunteers and where appropriate by HiVisUK staff to ensure they get the appropriate response from other local service providers.
This is one of our unique capacity building models that Hi-VisUK will promote across the country.
Hi-VisUK will continue to support World Health Day in the coming years. Last year our sister project, In Good Hands, attended World Mental Health Day celebrations in Hartlepool. This is part of our ongoing development of strategic and practical links in the borough as part of a planned Hi-VisUK & Hartlepool Borough Council (HBC) collaboration.
To be successful at Hi-VisUK we will constantly work to raise our profile at a local and regional level (as well as nationally). Opportunity to talk with other local disability organisations, national manufacturers and suppliers of aids and equipment is one part of a complex jigsaw of supporting organisations – who all need to know more about age acquired deafblindness. It is also an opportunity to meet older people with deafblindness who visited such events as photographed above.
The partnership between SCIE and SCENE Enterprises CIC continues to thrive. Using our Hi-VisUK OCN Level 3 Specialist Deafblind Assessor course, participants have the option of an open course in London or closed courses exclusively for organisations and delivered on their site. Workforce leads in the adult care sector from across the country continue to show interest in this unique course. Feedback has been extremely positive and further courses are being promoted via SCIEs website.
Our training courses seem to be plugging a large gap in awareness of deafblindness in older people, “I didn’t realise there were so many tools I could use”. Participants are finding the mix of theory and practical makes the learning highly accessible “Extremely informative, full of useful scenarios”.
The confidence gained in our training is showing through feedback from participants: “I have learnt a lot and I will go out and show as many as I can what I have learnt”‘ “I feel that if a deafblind visitor came into our centre I would be more confident in approaching them for the first time than I have been because of practising the block alphabet”.
Our highly practical Deafblind courses give participants a uniquely rounded understanding of the role and the skills required when guiding a deafblind person. After our training, not only can you say what a communicator guide is but you can do it too! The day builds on our deafblindness awareness foundation course that participants need to do before they can enrol onto this course.
Participants particularly enjoy the challenge of guiding and of being guided blindfold or wearing sight-loss simulation glasses! Navigating around a room, up and down stairs, in and out of doors, sitting at a dinner table and getting into a car – such a lot to learn you may think but the feedback says: “Enjoyed it all day!” “Very good”, “I can use all I have learned straight away”, “The training I had getting a deafblind person into a car I will use tomorrow with my Grandad who is deafblind”.
Our Foundation course in deafblindeness awareness is proving to be really popular with a wide range of people. Particpants come from a broad range of organisations in the community, including care service providers from private, public and voluntary sectors.
Feedback is positive: “I enjoyed the whole course”, “I found it all very interesting”, I enjoyed learning about the obstacles a deafblind person faces in every day life”, “Am looking forward to your other training”, “Gained knowledge and guidance around different types of deafblindness”, Comprehensive outline of deafblindness that I feel I can put in to action at work and in my own life tomorrow”, “Lots of learning styles catered for!”,
21 sensory support and adult social care workers/managers/support workers attended our level 3 qualification Specialist Deafblind Assessor course.
Feedback has been very positive. Again, professionals said they cherished the opportunity to learn abut deafblindness together so they can take this back to their teams, and to “get to know how deafblind support is shaped across the region”.
HiVisUK sees enabling professionals to work together like this across the country as one of the keys to making real change for older people.
“I enjoyed both days. It really made me think of the affects of deafblindeness”. “It gave me a clear understanding of the Care Act 2014”. Many commented on how surprised they were at the prevalence of age acquired deafblindness in the older population; and how much the numbers will grow due to people living longer.
We recently delivered training to social workers, care workers, and managers from six local authorities. Participants were taking part in our unique Specialist Deafblind Assessor Level 3 training. Feedback has been really positive.
Many have commented on how useful it was to be able to share their new learning journey with peers from different authorities. This is one of our project aims – to bring key stakeholders together for real and lasting change in the north east region.
Others said it had given them “a sense of confidence in working with deafblind people”.
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