Ensuring everyday services, including optometry and ophthalmology practices, are accessible for people who are blind or have low vision is an essential step in making our community more inclusive.
Our commitment to accessibility and inclusivity has come a long way in the past 10 years.
As a society, we’re more aware than ever of the needs of different communities – from dedicated faith rooms at this year’s Australian Open, to long-running programs providing breakfast to children in low socio-economic schools.
For the blind and low vision community, better access to things like digital platforms and the inclusion of braille and other accessibility cues in new buildings are helping our community move about safely and efficiently.
But for much of our existing everyday infrastructure, built when requirements weren’t as robust, there’s still a way to go. This includes many eye care practices, which are often a vital resource for people in the blind and low vision communities.
LOOK AT YOUR PHYSICAL SPACE
Accessibility is now built in by design, but for many existing buildings it simply wasn’t a requirement at the point of construction. That doesn’t mean elements of accessibility can’t be retrofitted or included in other ways.
One of the biggest barriers to accessibility for the blind and low vision community is the physical layout of a space.
Understanding how easy your practice is to navigate and making changes, if necessary, can make an incredible difference to the everyday lives of people with low vison or blindness. This might include reconsidering the location of your reception desk, moving chairs to the side of the room, or thinking about your design when renovating or building a new space.
If we design our practices, buildings or services in accessible ways, it actually benefits everyone so it’s just good business.
SUPPORT AND TRAIN YOUR STAFF
Staff are key to making our community feel at ease. This is why it’s imperative to train and help your employees understand the needs of our community.
This can include ensuring your staff know how to communicate with someone who is blind or has low vision. Or educating your team about when it’s appropriate to guide a patient who may need support – especially if they use a mobility aid like a white cane or Guide Dog.
If properly trained, and with ongoing support, any concerns patients or staff have can be mitigated.
This is something we’re passionate about at Guide Dogs NSW/ACT – more than 80% of our services sit beyond the adorable puppies the public knows and loves.
This includes our education services, such as our free, online course for individuals and businesses to expand their knowledge and understanding of the ways in which they can help people who are blind or have low vision. You can find this on our website: guidedogs.com.au.
I would strongly recommend any receptionist, or any person who’s working in a patient-facing role knows the basics of guiding. How can you guide someone? What is Guide Dog etiquette? Ask yourself if you have trained your staff in these areas – especially those who might be new to the field.
REVIEW YOUR SYSTEMS
Perhaps one of the easiest ways to increase accessibility is to review the communication strategies at your practice.
Many of the issues people with low vision or blindness encounter occur online with things such as the readability of a website.
Ensuring there are opportunities for patients with low vision or blindness to use personal aides or assisted technology to access service independently is just one of the ways practices can increase their inclusivity.
Other measures, such as ensuring the accessibility of your systems – including online booking systems, automated text, phone consults, and digital prescriptions – also help to provide those in the blind and low vision community with the independence they need to go about their day. Positively, these are all things that can be integrated into existing systems with relative ease. And once you have them, you’re then able to ask your patients which option works best for them.
At Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, navigating systems and using assisted technology is a big part of what we do – from setting people up with devices to helping them navigate new programs, and teaching them to use them in a real-world setting.
“… we also work directly with people in customer-facing roles… to educate and equip them with the knowledge they need to support our clients in the community”
ADVOCATING CHANGE
In my role as Senior Manager of Innovation and Inclusion at Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, I advocate for systemic change at both a government and local level. For example, across the country there are currently a string of new train stations being built, many of which we have consulted on to ensure they are built in an accessible way.
At an individual level, we also work directly with people in customer-facing roles, such as bus drivers or security guards, to educate and equip them with the knowledge they need to support our clients in the community.
But we also want these changes to proactively come from within – from the businesses and services that really matter to our clients.
Every year, our Centre for Eye Health, a Guide Dogs NSW/ACT initiative in Sydney, sees around 13,000 patients. But through our broader services – orientation and mobility, Assistive Technology, Guide Dog Mobility, and funding support to name a few – we also get a unique insight into what the blind and low vision community needs to access any service as independently as possible.
It’s important for us to share this insight so that we can all confidently champion this movement – from reviewing the accessibility of physical buildings to the ways in which we communicate with patients and beyond.
It’s positive to see a growing commitment across our society to ensuring services are made more accessible. Many businesses and healthcare practices are actively working to improve any shortfalls they may have. This might be as simple as asking for feedback from people with low vision or blindness and others, or creating a better online booking system.
It’s important to know, too, that it’s a continuous learning journey, with constantly evolving ways to make our world a more accessible place for people with low vision or blindness – whether that’s through new technology, or better understanding how our own ways of speaking and behaving can make someone else’s life that bit easier.
It’s our hope that with enough education, advocacy, and commitment, these considerations will become mainstream for everyday services.
Please visit learn.guidedogs.com.au for more information and learning materials.
Jodi Martin is the Senior Manager of Innovation and Inclusion at Guide Dogs NSW/ACT.
