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News stories

Up-to-date news stories and exciting events from Vista.

Vista's New Wycliffe home receive the Dignity in Care Award

February 2012

The Vista New Wycliffe Residential home has joined just a handful of organisations in Leicestershire who have received the Dignity in Care Accreditation Award.

The prestigious Award is only given to Care homes who can prove they are meeting the 10 ‘Dignity challenges’ and have proven they offer a personalized service to their residents and through their practices and staff development can demonstrate that they recognise their residents as individuals, giving them choice and control over their own lives. 

The Award is linked to a national campaign and was developed and launched in Leicestershire last summer by the County and City councils.  The objective of the Award is to improve care standards for adults living in residential homes and ensure residential care providers treat people with dignity and respect.

Staff and residents from the New Wycliffe home attended the Awards Ceremony which was hosted by Leicestershire County Council.  Staff at the Vista home have been working towards the Dignity in Care Award for the last year and are thrilled to have received recognition for their good practice and the high quality of care that they provide for the 46 visually impaired residents in the home.

A Spokesperson for Vista said, “We are very proud to have received the Dignity in Care Award as recognition of our staff’s commitment to creating a culture of dignity and respect in everything that we do.   From the Homes Manager to Domiciliary staff, everyone is trained to understand and demonstrate through their work and attitude to be ‘person centred’ in their approach, treating everyone as an individual and promoting independence and choice.”

For more information about the New Wycliffe Home or any of Vista’s services for visually impaired people please call 0116 249 8839 

 

Good news for visually impaired pedestrians in the City

February 2012

On Monday 6th February Leicester City Council set out a list of guidelines for businesses and shops for control of advertising boards on the highway.  During the Cabinet meeting Councillor Palmer, Deputy City Mayor, stated that for some people, the advertising boards were a nuisance and made access difficult for people using mobility scooters or pushchairs.  Various discussions and consultations had taken place with different groups and the guidelines were deemed to be a common sense approach and fair for everyone.  Councillor Palmer added that a final decision on the report would be made in March 2012.

The 10 new guidelines include premises only having one advertising A-board per business, having it directly outside the business and leaving at least 1.5 metres of pavement clear.  Shops are advised not to tie boards to lampposts, put them in central reservations or place boards too close to the kerb edge.

Jenny Pearce, Chief Executive of Vista, welcomed the move, saying: "For years, Vista and people with sight loss have campaigned for advertising A-boards to be regulated.  They are a nuisance to people with sight loss, especially long cane users, as they're usually situated directly on pedestrian routes. This decision is fantastic news and Vista is grateful to the city for listening and responding to the needs of people with sight loss."

This link will take you to the article featured in the Leicester Mercury

 

SCAM Warning!

February 2012

Vista have been alerted to a telephone fundraising scam that appears to be happening now.
 
One of the nurses at LRI received a call on 1 February at about 6.45pm.  The caller talked about Vista’s outreach work in the community and also mentioned Guide Dogs.  They requested a monthly donation of £12.50 and then dropped this down to £4.00 a month.  They also tried to elicit date of birth and personal details and the general tone was aggressive.
 
Vista is not currently running any telephone fundraising campaigns, this is an identify theft scam. 
 
It has been reported this to the police and Trading standards.  Trading Standards have asked us to report any further incidences to them which come to our attention.  

*If you receive any calls of this nature, do not give out any of your personal information and please report this via the contact details below.*
 
If any service user or anyone else mentions this to you, please tell them that this is a scam, reassure them that this is not coming from Vista and ask them for the details of the call.  Useful information is:
 
Date and time of call
What was said
Name and telephone number of the person receiving the call
Postcode of the individual receiving the call
 
This information will help Trading Standards to investigate and identify any clusters of activity in a specific area.
 
We have put some information about this on Facebook - Vistablind, Twitter - @Vista_Leicester and the Vista website – www.vistablind.org.uk.
 
If you have any queries please call Luci Jago, Head of Fundraising at Vista on 0116 249 8831 or email: info@vistablind.org.uk

Vista Celebrates National Storytelling week 2012

January 2012

(Listen to Vista's collaboration with storyteller Tom Phillips at the end of this article)

National Storytelling Week 2012 takes place between 28th January and 4th February and Vista, the leading local sight loss charity in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland is proud to be participating in the event for the second year running.

As part of the celebrations this year, Vista have teamed up with local professional Storyteller Tom Phillips and have produced a CD of stories and poems recorded by Tom and the volunteers at the studio at HMP Gartree.  The CD has been distributed to nearly 2000 visually impaired people during National Storytelling week to accompany their monthly Vista audio magazine and talking newspapers.  Tom is also giving a live performance of his storytelling to Vista Day Care members.

A spokesperson for Vista’s Sound Services department said, “We are very excited about this collaboration.  It has been fantastic to produce a unique combination of stories and poems as a celebration of storytelling for our listeners. For some people with a sight loss they are totally reliant on someone else to read things aloud for them so Vista’s audio transcription service gives them a real sense of independence.”

Tom said, “National Storytelling Week is a time to show people the power of stories.  Stories touch the heart of everyone, young and old.  They help us understand and make sense of the world.  Through story we find answers by hearing how others have coped with adversity. We may not have magic and fantastical creatures to help us but we have the same strength and resolve the heroes of the stories have and these stories help us use it.”

“To celebrate this week Vista and I have joined forces to promote storytelling. The visually impaired people Vista work with rely on their hearing for so much and, as storytelling is primarily an oral art form, it is easily accessible.”
 
Vista’s Sound Services department offers people registered blind or partially sighted living in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland a free talking newspaper service. Local publications such as the Leicester Mercury are currently recorded and distributed fortnightly to approximately 3,000 listeners.  Recordings are available in English, Gujarati and Punjabi and other languages on request.

Mrs Patel who regularly receives Vista’s talking newspapers in Gujarati said “I have Glaucoma and struggle to read nowadays, receiving the Leicester Mercury on CD is fantastic for me! I know what’s going on in Leicester and have things I can talk to my grandchildren about.”

For more information about Vista’s services for visually impaired people please call 0116 249 8839 or visit www.vistablind.org.uk and to find out more about local Storyteller Tom Phillips and how you can get involved in storytelling visit www.tomthetaleteller.webs.com

Click on the links below to hear the stories:

1. The Naked Truth
2. Dracula
3. A Rabbits Tale
4. Alice in Wonderland 
5. The Jabberwocky
6. The Devils Foot 
7. The Fletchers Son

 

Raise your concerns with Council Leaders

January 2012

Vista understands that, on a daily basis, people with sight loss encounter a number of frustrating obstacles. These issues range from inappropriately positioned advertising A boards to lack of clear and inaccessible signage.

To assist you, Vista has put together a template letter which we hope will help you to raise your concerns directly with Council leaders across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

This template is to be used as a starting point and we would actively encourage you to edit the letter as appropriate to meet your requirements.

This link will take you to a copy of the letter.

Vista needs you!

January 2012

Do you want to make a difference to local people with Sight loss?  If so, Vista needs you!

Vista are calling out to anyone who lives in South and South East Leicestershire who has an hour or more a week to help to make a difference by becoming a volunteer Box collector. 

In 2011 Vistas Box Collectors raised almost £35,000 which just shows that watching the pennies really does make pounds!  With these generous donations from the public and supporters Vista were able to fund initiatives ranging from training workshops, social groups, providing specialist equipment and Children’s activities.

The role is very flexible and varied and will involve emptying and collecting money donated to Vista Collection boxes and being an ambassador for Vista.  The amount you do is up to you and you can collect on your own or with a friend or partner.  Training and support are provided and travel expenses are paid.  A driving licence and use of a car is essential.  A spokesperson for the Vista fundraising team said, “It’s very fulfilling.  We collect from a variety of sources and have the opportunity to build up relationships with the box holders and their customers.”

For more information about becoming a Box Collector or Vista’s services for visually impaired people please call 0116 249 8801 or visit www.vistablind.org.uk

Super New Mini-bus for Vista!

January 2012

Thanks to a very generous donation from the The Edith Murphy Foundation and the Rotary club of Rutland, Vista have been able to purchase a new wheelchair accessible minibus to replace their 14 year old bus.

A Vista Service Users said, “I have been coming to Vista's social group for 6 years. I’m 90 years old and live on my own, I don’t have any family. The bus is the only way I get to see my friends, without it I wouldn’t be able to go places.” 



A spokesperson for Vista said, “This is a most welcome addition as our buses are starting to show their age.  I would like to convey our thanks to the funders and assure them that it will be put to good use in providing safe travel for our service users.”

For more information about Vista’s services for people with sight loss please call 0116 249 8839 or email: info@vistablind.org.uk

VIstore Catalogue and Opening Times for 2012.

January 2012

VIstore the Vista shop has launched a catalogue of products.

This link will take you to the mail order catalogue. 

This link will take you to the order form and price list. 

For more information or copies of the catalogue in alternative formats contact Vistore on 0116 249 8800 or email: shop@vistablind.org.uk

Vistore is open from Monday to Friday 9:00am to 4:00pm

 

2011 AGM Open Forum report

December 2011

Two Open Forum events were held on the AGM day on 8th October 2011, to gather the views of Vista’s members.
The discussion topic was as follows:

‘What would make the biggest difference to people with sight loss to help them to be healthy and in control of their lives?  Also, what could we do to promote eye health and prevent avoidable sight loss?  What do you think Vista could do?’

Following the Open Forum events, the responses were discussed at a meeting of Vista’s Visually Impaired Forum on October 29th. A small group of Managers then met and agreed the actions we can take to put these suggestions into practice.

The responses from the two groups overlapped quite a lot so they have been combined into one report under five main headings. This report gives a brief summary of the main points raised and then explains the actions we plan to take, to improve health and wellbeing for people with sight loss.

This link will take you to a copy of the report

For more information about Vista please contact the Helpline on 0116 249 8839 or email: info@vistablind.org.uk

 

Vision Strategy Group for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Progress Report, December 2011

December 2011

Progress Report – December 2011

1. Low Vision Service – The review of service has commenced with a view of getting a decision for the next financial year.
2. Changes to Health Strategic Planning and Commissioning Structures - The Group was updated about development of the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), with discussions about how the Vision Strategy Group relates to the new reporting structures. The proposals for an Eye Health Group are still being considered with this being seen a sub-group with a pathway into the CCGs. The three local CCGs would also work together through an Integrated Commissioning Board. Different substructures would feed into this and the Vision Strategy group would relate to the Complex Care domain, which included physical and sensory disability in its remit.
   
   Work on the Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs) had commenced and wider stakeholder involvement was welcomed by the Health and Wellbeing Boards, which were functioning well in shadow form. A report was being written by members of the Vision Strategy Group, to feed into the JSNAs. Meanwhile The Physical and Sensory Programme Board was dormant until its relationship with the emerging structures was clear. 
3. Progress against action plan for children’s services – No further progress with the action plan had been possible because of ongoing uncertainties - a new Education Act was expected at the beginning of 2012 and news about the Green Paper was still awaited. There was also uncertainty about future funding for children with support needs in schools.
4. Progress against action plan for adult social care services – The Vision Strategy Group was updated about contracts for early intervention services delivered by Vista on behalf of the 3 local authorities, including the exciting new reablement service for deafblind people. The positive attitude of the local authorities towards early interventions was very reassuring for people with sight loss in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

The Group was updated about the national working group which is addressing concerns about the future of rehabilitation. The draft standards framework ‘Seeing It My Way’ was felt to be pivotal to an understanding of the interventions required by people with sight loss and endorsement by the Department of Health was being sought. A sight loss pathway and framework had also been developed to clarify the skill sets required to deliver the ‘Seeing it My Way’ outcomes.

Jenny Pearce, Vista
Chairman of Vision Strategy Group

London Marathon Places available NOW for 2012!

December 2011

Vista is proud to offer a limited number of London Marathon Places for 2012. These places are for people wanting to fundraise for Vista and raise a minimum sponsorship amount of £2,500.

If you are interested, please contact Anand Bhatt on 0116 249 8807 or Luci Jago on 0116 249 8831 for more information.

Government withdraws plans to axe mobility benefits

December 2011

Last years Government spending review revealed plans by Chancellor George Osborne to cut mobility allowance to disabled persons living in care homes which would supposedly save £135m by 2014-15.

Up to 80,000 disabled people living in care homes use the allowance, worth around £51 per week, to visit family and friends and attend important doctor’s appointments; without this money many of these people would undoubtedly face isolation.

The cuts had faced profound opposition from disability charities and campaigners who described the benefit as a “lifeline”.

Vista was therefore delighted to learn that plans have been dropped with the u-turn being confirmed today by Pensions Minister Maria Miller.  Chief Executive of Vista, Jenny Pearce, said, “This is brilliant news for us and particularly for the people living in the Homes. The threat to DLA was a threat to people’s independence and also a threat to the Homes’ budgets as local authorities have been moving away from funding transport as much as they could over the last few years, on the assumption that people had DLA.”

Vista is a charity that is dedicated to improving the lives of people with sight loss in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. There are nearly 6000 registered blind and partially sighted people in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, many of whom receive help and support from Vista.

Of the four residential homes run by Vista for blind and partially sighted, two, Simmins Crescent and Applegarth, are specifically for individuals with other disabilities, many of whom receive the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance. Jenny Pearce went on to add that “this is definitely a victory for disabled people across the country.”

This link will take you to the BBC News website.

For more information about Vista Homes or any of Vista’s services contact 0116 249 8839.

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