Visual impairment in elderly parent- no support

[curtaintwitcher23]

I'm just looking for advice and wisdom on the best way to get support for my MIL (78) who has significant visual impairment.
It has deteriorated rapidly in the last 12 months and I am shocked by the complete lack of support and advice that has been offered to her.
She was discharged from the hospital after they said injections didn't work and last week in desperation went to an optician who sent an urgent referral back to the hospital.
Her GP has completely failed to offer anything including a rude receptionist (would you believe) that gave her a ticking off for daring to go into the surgery to try and get an appointment rather than ring (she can't see to make a call now)

She lives alone some distance from us which we are trying to do something about but we are concerned about her safety and ability to cope at home, I think she's been hiding how bad it is for a while and we have been trying to sensitivity address things like her home not being clean but she insists she's great at housework etc.

Is there anything similar to an OT adaptations assessment we can ask for specific to vision impairment and who do we ask?

My OH will be going to her next hospital appointment with her so that might help but it seems no one offers any actual care just lots of matter of fact medical speak and passing the book,she is a vulnerable woman and it's just grim.

Any recommendations for advice from charities? I've had no luck so far.

What sort of support are you looking for? Could you start by arranging a cleaner to come in weekly?

Request an assessment of need from social services... they usually have a ROVI which is a visual impairment officer

@KnickerlessParsons unfortunately she refuses this as she thinks it's clean so I just do it covertly whenever we can get there.

@Mumma Thankyou I will do that right now.

Do you know exactly why her sight is getting worse? Has she been diagnosed with a condition eg Macular degeneration?

Yes, contact your local authority- they will have a sensory needs team, and she can join the waiting list for an assessment.

In the meantime you can contact RNIB, the partially sighted society, and other local charities and groups

From your mention of injections I am guessing she has macular degeneration? Has she been discharged from a specialist AMD clinic? Would she be considered legally blind? It is hard to know what stage she is at. A good clinic would refer her to a low vision clinic and possibly the RNIB who have staff specifically trained to help people who have suffered significant sight loss. Truthfully you need to at least see her copies of clinic letters to know what has been done and what remains to be done.

Not sure about suppprt for elderly as I work with visually impaired children only, but I would have a look at the RNIB website to see if any of the resources there can help. They may offer local support or services depending on your area.

If she is struggling with things like using the phone have a look at their online shop as well as they have adaptive equipment such as big button and talking telephones, talking microwaves etc which might at least help with some of the issues she is facing in the home. https://shop.rnib.org.uk/

Consider things like the brightness of bulbs in the house etc as well, depending on the eye condition she may benefit from increasing the wattage and brightness of the light, using white rather than warm lighting and/ or adding more lighting around the house.

Age UK also offers advocacy and support for visual impairment in a few areas but will depend on her location as to whether there is anything local to her but maybe worth taking a look: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/services/in-your-area/

RNIB are fantastic, also consider things like an Alexa and other voice activated devices that could be set up by you or your DH and used to help her to access services like digital radio, turning on the TV, accessing audio books, telling the time, setting timers, creating a shopping list and so on.

Assist her to have a critical review of her home to make sure she has clear pathways through rooms and storage is ordered in such a way that she knows where everything is and can find it without rooting around too much, and can identify when she's running low on something even with limited visibility.

I encountered similar problems when my mum developed macular degeneration. Optician and hospital just said there's nothing that can be done and gave zero info on support so I was left to research on my own.

She needs a low vision assessment. Details here on how to arrange one:
https://www.rnib.org.uk/your-eyes/navigating-sight-loss/sight-loss-and-wellbeing/low-vision-and-low-vision-services/

Thankyou so much for everyone's replies and links , I have looked at them all and spoken to a charity NVision who seem to be brilliant and are making a referral for a ROVI.
It is macular degeneration but she has additional complications.