A message from Clair Bryan, Director of Services

I hope you are all keeping well. It’s been a difficult last few months with the dark nights and the ongoing restrictions placed on our movements. With the lighter days and good news about the COVID-19 vaccine roll out though, we all hope some sort of normality will return soon. The last few months have been busy and there’s plenty of news to share with you.

We were delighted to see our first ever TV ad in February. We managed to get a prime spot in the advert break during Coronation Street. After this advertising, we saw an increase in families contacting us to find out more about our services and an increase in referrals of new members.

In December, our trustees agreed that Sight Scotland Veterans could start to support more people by extending our services to help all veterans with sight loss, not just those with significant sight loss, and to also provide more support to family members. I am currently working with colleagues to explore the different types of services that we could provide to veterans at different stages of sight loss. In particular, we are looking at how we can support people who have just been diagnosed, as these veterans are likely to need a different type of service than those with significant sight loss developed some time ago. We are also keen to hear from you, our members, about your own experiences, so if you are keen to talk to us about the kind of support that would have made a difference for you soon after you were diagnosed with sight loss, please do get in touch.

Our services are still continuing, even if a bit differently. The Outreach Service continues to provide support remotely. The Rehabilitation Team are also providing assessments by phone or online. Our low vision assessments are helping members to read items such as mail, medication, magazines and the sell-by dates on food. The team have distributed new equipment to veterans and provided training on its use.

The Sight Scotland Veterans Centres remain closed for now. But we are working on plans to open the Linburn and Hawkhead centres and are awaiting sign off from the Care Inspectorate and Health Protection Scotland as to a date when it will be safe to do so. As soon as we are given a date to reopen, we will get in contact with veterans who attended the Centres before March 2020, and let them know what to expect.

Many of you will be aware that Jim Thomson, the Centre Manager for Linburn, retired in March after seven years with us. He will be hugely missed by the staff team and members who attend the Centre. I am really pleased that Gillian McDonald, currently Hawkhead Centre Manager, has agreed to take on the interim role of Activities Centre Manager for both Centres. Gillian will oversee the safe reopening of the two centres.

Over the past few months, we’ve been able to roll out phone comradeship circles and activity groups Scotland wide. As well as social chat groups, we are also running group activities, such as quizzes, crossword sessions and reminiscence groups. We are currently trialling a sketching group with Michael McAllister, Hawkhead Centre’s Art Volunteer. If you would like to know more, please speak to your Centre Officer or Outreach Worker.

Over the Christmas period our volunteers kept in touch with 38 members who said they would value a call over the Christmas period. Volunteers included board members, existing staff from both charities and from our existing volunteers. The feedback from members has been very positive and we plan to repeat the Festive check-in this year.

And finally, a recent success has been our Charles Bonnet Support Group. Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS) is a syndrome that affects people with deteriorating sight, and can cause visions and hallucinations. The Rehabilitation Team trialled a four-week Charles Bonnet Support Group in February and received very positive feedback from participants. Read more about the support group in this edition of The Bugle on page 31. If you suffer from Charles Bonnet Syndrome and would like to join the next group, please get in touch via your Outreach Worker or Centre Officer.

We’ll continue to keep a close eye on government guidance on the ways our services can be offered. The most important thing, however, is ensuring that both members and staff remain safe at all times. Hope is on the horizon though, with the vaccination programmes now well underway. We’ll be in contact about any changes, as we are able to make them.

Best wishes,

Clair Bryan Director of Services Sight Scotland Veterans