Demand for better health communication for blind

COMMUNICATION between blind people and health services has to improve following the release of a damning survey, a city charity has said.

The Scottish study found that only one in ten blind or partially sighted people receive crucial information in a format they can understand.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People in Scotland said this put patients' health at risk, and meant mistakes could be made with medical advice, test results and diagnosis.

The charity said the NHS had to do more to consider how blind patients would like to be communicated with, and cited GPs as the most likely so seek a person's preference.

Mhairi Thurston, the academic who conducted the research, said: "Being able to access healthcare information independently is vital to people who are blind or partially sighted. It is also a right.

"Too often people receive information in formats they can't understand, even when healthcare providers know they have a sight loss condition."