Blind people in England are at risk from ‘shocking’ delays in social care, a report has found

The lives of thousands of blind and partially sighted people are being put at risk by delays in the vital care they are legally entitled to after being assessed as visually impaired, according to a report.

More than a quarter of English councils are making people newly diagnosed blind wait more than a year for vision assessments and potentially life-saving support, the RNIB report shows.

It cited the example of one person who died while waiting for help from the municipality. The Guardian can reveal that the case involved a woman from Church Stretton in Shropshire who had waited 18 months for an assessment when she tripped over a pothole and later died from head injuries. She had tried to teach herself how to use a white cane without any support or training, despite having been given a visual impairment certificate.

Shropshire was one of the councils to admit to the RNIB that newly diagnosed blind people were having to wait more than a year for assessment and care.

Municipalities are obliged under the Healthcare Act of 2014 to provide such assistance to people who are dealing with a recent visual impairment. The support includes helping people to deal practically and mentally with visual impairment at a critical time after a diagnosis.

The Social Care Ombudsman recommends that councils provide these services within 28 days of someone receiving a visual impairment certificate.

But the RNIB report, which is based on Freedom of Information requests to councils in England, found that 86% had missed this 28-day deadline. The Out of Sight – The Hidden Scandal of Vision Rehabilitation report, shared exclusively with the Guardian, warned that the delays revealed in the figures were dangerous.

From the 80 municipalities that provided figures, it emerged that more than 2,000 people would have to wait more than six months for support in 2022.

The RNIB estimated that at least 115,000 blind and visually impaired people will be left without any support during their lifetime, based on a separate survey of 423 people last year.

The new report said: “RNIB has heard directly from many blind and visually impaired people who have experienced waiting times well beyond what is safe or expected, only to discover that at least 2,025 people had to wait more than six months for visual rehabilitation . assessment is shocking.”

It concluded that blind and partially sighted people were being let down by cash-strapped councils, partly because their care was unregulated, unlike other forms of adult social care, despite the risks involved.

It says: “Our research has shown how blind and partially sighted people are at increased risk of harm if a structured vision recovery support program is not implemented in time. This happens too often and puts lives at risk.”

It called for oversight of such services by the Care Quality Commission. “Without national oversight, there is no accountability for the services provided,” the report said.

Vivienne Francis, Chief Social Change Officer at the RNIB, said: “We know that local authorities in England are struggling to cope with rising demand for visual rehabilitation services, and to resource the service effectively. However, the threadbare service means that thousands of blind and partially sighted people often wait more than twelve months without the support they are entitled to so they can fully enjoy their lives.

“These hidden injustices in social care must be resolved. We are calling on all British political parties to ensure that people with sight loss get the emotional and practical support they need, when they need it.”

Natalie Holford, 60, from Tamworth, said it took a near miss in a possible road traffic accident before she received help after Marfan syndrome led to her being registered as severely visually impaired in April 2019.

She said: “I almost got run over. This would be approximately six months (after receiving a diagnosis). I’m in tears. I called social services and said, “You know, I really need whatever support is supposed to be happening right now.”

She subsequently received ‘very good’ support for sight restoration from Birmingham City Council. It included white cane training, which she said gave her the “balance and confidence” she needed to develop.

She said: ‘At first I was worried that I would look vulnerable because of the white cane, but actually I always felt much stronger when people would come and ask if I needed help. Now I don’t leave the house without the cane.”

Terry Quinn, 59, from Baildon in West Yorkshire, said he was “desperate” after being registered as severely visually impaired in 2019 due to diabetic retinopathy. He had to give up his healthcare business, saying he would spend “days and weeks alone in the house and wouldn’t dare go outside.”

The four months he spent waiting for support from Bradford Council were the toughest. “I’ve never felt so alone in my life,” he said. He only received support when a low vision clinic suggested he call the municipality. “That one phone call led to me living the best blind life ever,” he said.

The support helped him “think more positively” and led him to “work up the courage” to get a service dog, Quinn said.