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ACCESSIBLE COMMUNICATIONS
Earlier this year a visually impaired member of the Access Group reported that she could not get the County Council to send letters and bills in large print. This issue was taken up by Visual Impairment Breconshire who asked the Council to tell us how people could get their letters and bills in an accessible format. We were aware of similar problems with the local Health Board and so we asked them the same question.
The Health Board replied, telling us that the information was on their website. What we found there was a statement of policy that people should receive communications in accessible formats but it did not explain how to get them. After further correspondence we were told that the systems were in place and that as long as a patient's GP is aware of the problem, their needs would be considered when they visit the surgery or receive letters. We were asked to let the Health Board know of specific problems when they arise.
At the County Council the issue seemed to pass into limbo. One of our members tried calling their helpline but could not find their way through the menus to talk to the right person. But recently we met their new Chief Rehabilitation Officer for the visually impaired, Alun Roberts, who told us that the IT people at the Council have a system that can change the format for all correspondence for an individual from the Council. Also Rob Beardall, the Development Officer for Equalities is coming to our September meeting to discuss the issue.
or both the County Council and the Health Board we need to hear about specific examples where the needs of the visually impaired have not been considered. Please contact Michael Knee 01874 622987 or michaelknee@tiscali.co.uk.