UK sources of information and / or support

Patient UK has an extensive directory of patient support and self help groups for people with blindness/visual impairment. Below are links to some of the larger support organisations and blindness/visual impairment information.

 Identification and notification of sight loss

Information from the Department of Health.

 Action for Blind People

A national UK charity which aims to enable blind and partially sighted people to enjoy equal opportunities in every aspect of their lives through work, leisure, housing and support.

 Guide Dogs for the Blind Association

Their mission is to provide guide dogs, mobility and other rehabilitation services that meet the needs of blind and partially sighted people.

 National Blind Children's Society

The National Blind Children's Society (NBCS) supports blind and visually impaired children and their families. NBCS offers expertise, information and support to the family from the moment a child is diagnosed as visually impaired through until the age of 25.

 National Federation of the Blind of the United Kingdom

An organisation of people who are blind or partially sighted who campaign for better service provisions and an enhanced quality of life for all visually impaired people.

 Royal Blind

Royal Blind's vision is to make a significant contribution to building a community in Scotland in which blind and partially sighted people, including those who also have other disabilities, are fully included and lead fulfilling lives. Royal Blind operates four distinct services: The Royal Blind School, Forward Vision, Braeside House, and the Scottish Braille Press.

 Royal London Society for the Blind

An international provider of education, training, and employment for blind and partially sighted people.

 Royal National College for the Blind

The UK's leading college for people who are blind or partially sighted. Based on a large residential campus where students prepare for a wide range of nationally recognised academic and vocational qualifications. RNC's students are drawn from all over the UK and overseas.

 Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)

Aims to help people get on with their lives, despite their difficulties, by offering practical support and advice.

 Seeing Dogs Alliance

During 2002, the Seeing Dogs Alliance was relaunched with the sole aim of providing an alternative source of dogs to guide blind people.

 St Dunstan's

Cares for blind ex-servicemen and women and aims to restore quality of life to those who were blinded in the First and Second World Wars, and all conflicts between and since, as well as peacetime accidents.

 Talk and Support

Talk and Support offers a range of services for people with sight problems in the UK. The services are available from the comfort of their own home, using the telephone. Talk and Support services provide opportunities for people to continue to socialise, learn, share information and support each other. They offer two services:

• Tele Befriending - social groups over the telephone
• Tele Support - information and discussion groups

 Visionary

Visionary is the new name of the National Association of Local Societies for Visually Impaired People (NALSVI). Their purpose is to support local sight loss charities in enabling blind and partially sighted people to achieve their full potential as independent citizens and to influence and work in partnership with others to improve the quality of life for visually impaired people.

 Wales Council for the Blind

Enabling and empowering visually impaired people.

 Visual impairment

Information from NHS Choices - the government's patient information portal.

See also the Patient UK deafblind page.

Further sources / more detailed information

Some non-UK sites

The following list popular non-UK health information sites with content aimed at the general public. They are mainly from the US. They have not been checked to see if information about the above topic is included but these large sites are comprehensive.

• Non-UK disease / illness sites
• Non-UK self-help / support group sites

More detailed medical information

The following list online sources of more detailed medical information, mainly from the UK. These sites are mainly aimed at health professionals, but are of interest to all. They have not been checked to see if information about the above topic is included, but information about most medical topics can usually be found.

• PatientPlus - hundreds of medical reference articles provided by Patient UK.
• Evidence Based Medicine - such as from Clinical Evidence, The Cochrane Library, etc.
• Database of UK Clinical Guidelines - from NICE, SIGN, etc.
• Medline - abstracts available from thousands of journals.
• Sites listing free online medical textbooks and journals.
• Sites listing free medical images - pictures, atlases, anatomy, skin diseases, etc.