Life-changing service for patients with sight loss in Rotherham celebrates key anniversary

Eye Care Liaison Officers employed by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) in partnership with the NHS, provide crucial emotional and practical support for people diagnosed with sight loss.

RNIB has employed an ECLO at The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust’s eye clinic, now based at Rotherham Community Health Centre on Greasbrough Road, for 30 years. Since then, the service has grown to 130 RNIB ECLOs and by the end of 2024 there will be an ECLO in every major UK hospital eye clinic. Other sight loss organisations employ a further 60 ECLOs.

Kevin Hewish, 56, who was the very first RNIB ECLO at Rotherham in 1994, said: “When we started the service 30 years ago, the NHS was a very different place. There was some resistance from certain quarters, but as soon as we started meeting service users, we found out what they wanted and needed. We were building this new service. None of us were quite sure how it would look. It was the people with sight loss who shaped the service. We put together an information pack that everyone contributed to. It’s amazing the way it has developed. It was obvious that people recognised that this was necessary.”

Stevie Johnson was Orthoptist at the clinic in 1994 and was so impressed by the ECLO service she ended up working for RNIB and is now the charity’s  Clinical Lead.

She said: “Very quickly we realised how this service was going to benefit people with eye conditions and sight loss. It was a service they had never had before; it was space and time to talk to someone who understood what people needed and it was the link between health and social care. It meant people with eye conditions could be made aware of all the support and organisations that were available to them that they might not have known about otherwise. It became very apparent very quickly that this project needed to be expanded.”

Current ECLO Gabrielle Bower was herself inspired to become an ECLO after her husband Matt Bower, who has sight loss,  previously held the role. She said: “The role I play here in the clinic at Rotherham is huge. The consultants often comment on how important it is to have an ECLO here in clinic. Every day I make sure I’m visible so patients who need emotional support or practical support, such as applying for a Certificate of Vision Impairment, applying for benefits or getting hold of a magnifier. It’s giving them time to come and have a chat and to find out what support is out there.”

Jean Derrick, 91, is a current patient at Rotherham eye clinic and has had vital support from ECLO Gabrielle Bower. She said: “My eyes were getting really bad with macular degeneration, but the eye clinic said they couldn’t help me any further because there was too much going on at the back of my eye. I was getting upset because I felt I was isolated, and no one seemed to know how to help me. But then Gabrielle contacted me, and she said she would take care of everything.

“She told me I was severely visually impaired and that she would make sure I was registered. She was so good and after all I had been through, I just started crying with relief. It was so wonderful for someone to listen to me and see to everything for me. I can’t thank her enough.”

Gabrielle helped Jean apply for tax reductions, benefits and for a discounted TV licence and referred her for home visits with partner organisation Rotherham Sight and Sound.

Mohammed Jabir, Senior Consultant Ophthalmologist at The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust has been at Rotherham for 20 years and has followed the ECLO service from its inception. He said: “It’s a fantastic service. As consultants, we don’t have time to sit with patients for long periods. The ECLOs take a big workload off us. They are professional, they listen to the patients, and they are part of the department. They come to our meetings and link to our low vision service and work closely with clinicians every day. Patients will always need this support and I am sure it will last for a hundred years!”

About 50 per cent of ECLOs are themselves blind or partially sighted and have often been inspired to help others by their own experiences of care given by ECLOs. ECLOs now receive professional training accredited by RNIB.

RNIB has recently developed its Eye Care Support Pathway which aims to ensure patients are supported at every stage of their sight loss journey, from visiting an optician through to living in the modern world with sight loss. ECLOs will play an increasingly vital role in receiving referrals at key stages of the patient’s journey.

For more information about ECLOs, call RNIB’s Helpline on 0303 123 9999, or visit RNIB’s website. 

Press release originally written and distributed by RNIB.