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MP Blunkett backs campaign to give people Braille NHS results
CAMPAIGNERS fighting for equal rights for blind people have won the support of Sheffield MP and former Home Secretary David Blunkett who has called on health trusts to provide information in Braille.
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) launched its Losing Patients campaign in Sheffield after a blind woman claimed she had been unfairly treated after a routine test.
Sarah Bryan, 25, who is registered blind, was told she would receive the results of a cervical smear test in Braille, but three weeks later was told that wasn't possible and that a standard print letter would be sent instead.
Mrs Bryan, who lives in the city, said health workers said she would have to get someone to read the results to her, a situation which she described as "totally unacceptable" at the campaign launch. "I was particularly offended by the assumption that I had a carer or someone to read my letter for me. It isn't the first time I've encountered difficulties.
"I received congratulations cards in Braille from friends when I got married in 2008, why can't I get information from health services?"
Research by the RNIB found that 72 per cent of blind and partially sighted people reported that they were unable to read information from their GP and 81 per cent unable to read medicine instructions and safety notices. Details from appointment letters to instructions for taking medication are consistently provided in standard print. Patients must then purchase aids to read it or lose their privacy and find someone else to read it to them.
Mr Blunkett, who is vice president of the RNIB said: "I believe visual impairment isn't the problem, the problem is the culture of giving ordinary print to people who cannot read it.
"No patient should feel it's too much trouble to ask for accessible information or that a special effort is needed to secure their right to read."
The RNIB said that it would now work with other health and public authorities in an attempt to overcome the difficulties experienced by Mrs Bryan and other blind people. Head of campaigns and policy at RNIB Steve Winyard said: "NHS commissioners and managers must develop clear policies to meet the health information needs of blind and partially sighted people."
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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