A scheme providing eye care to homeless and vulnerable people is making huge strides in improving their eyesight, health and quality of life.
Charity Vision Care For Homeless People, which provides eye care services to homeless and other vulnerable people in an accessible and friendly environment, runs a weekly clinic at the Gloucester City Mission in the city’s Eastgate Street.
The project is supported by NHS Gloucestershire and the Local Optical Committee and provides valuable help to people who are experiencing vision issues, or who haven’t been able to access eye checks.
The clinic has been running since April 2022 and involves a number of agencies working together to improve access to eye care and reduce health inequalities, including the Outreach Team at the City Mission and charity P3, as well as Gloucestershire Health & Care NHS Foundation Trust’s Homeless Healthcare Team.
Karen Gennard, Optometrist at Vision Care for Homeless People, said: “Sadly people who are homeless or vulnerable are less likely to be able to access eye care and they may experience more eye problems than the general population.
“This is a really clear example of how health inequalities affect people, where we see those in a particular group experience unfair differences in healthcare.
“Establishing the clinic is about trying to provide that help which is so difficult for some groups to access.
“We know that homeless and vulnerable people are more likely to be exposed to risk factors like poor nutrition, smoking, drug abuse and trauma.
“Corrected vision makes it easier for the person to find work, access benefits and numerous other things which will improve their life.
“There’s so much kindness within the service with clinicians willingly giving their time on a voluntary basis which is absolutely terrific.”
A total of 61 people have been seen at the clinic, the majority of whom are unable to recall ever having a sight test or being tested within the last 10 years.
The clinic partners closely with local opticians and businesses who have provided vital help with equipment and glazing, free of charge.
Optometrists and dispensing opticians give up their time on a voluntary basis to help out at the clinic. To date the service has provided 59 free prescription glasses/lenses to people being seen in the clinic, which is significant in terms of improving quality of life and managing daily living challenges for this group of people who face barriers to accessing healthcare.
Dawn Harris, Homeless Healthcare & Special Allocation Scheme Team Lead, Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust said: “This is a fantastic initiative benefitting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.
“It’s great to see the impact this is already having and we look forward to continuing to see the benefits in the months and years to come.”
Alun Davies, a totally blind person who works for the charity Thomas Pocklington Trust and who helps the team as an Expert by Experience said:
“This project is the very best example of early intervention and tackling health inequalities.
“People who are homeless are often forgotten and missed out of routine health care such as eye tests and glasses.
“Being able to use your sight as effectively as possible is key to a good quality life and opportunities.
“Huge congratulations to all the groups involved in this project for listening to and responding to the needs of people with lived experience.”
Seeing people in the clinic means the eye experts can not only pick up on eye issues and diseases like glaucoma and cataracts but also general health conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke risk, issues which can be detected through the health of the eyes.
Dr Graham Mennie, Clinical Lead for Eye Health at NHS Gloucestershire said:
“As well as providing really important help to vulnerable people with their eye health, this scheme is likely to have a big impact on their wider health and wellbeing because seeing clearly is essential for all of us and helps determine our quality of life.
“The clinic also gives us a chance to screen for general health conditions so it’s having a double benefit”.