Raising awareness of having sight loss

Raising awareness of having sight loss

15 May 2019

THE trauma of sight loss is to be highlighted at an event aimed at retired people in Newcastle next week.

The Macular Society, which is a leading sight loss charity will be raising awareness of the most common form of sight loss in the UK at the Young at Heart Retirement Living Exhibition. 

The charity is encouraging people to visit its stand at the event, which takes place at the Burrendale Hotel on Wednesday, May 22.

Macular disease is the biggest cause of blindness in the UK. Nearly 1.5 million people are currently affected and many more are at risk.

The disease can have a devastating effect on people’s lives, leaving them unable to drive, read or see faces. Many people affected describe losing their sight as being similar to bereavement.

There is still no cure and most types of the disease are not treatable. AMD is the most common form of macular 

disease, affecting more than 600,000 people, usually over the age of 50. 

In addition, the Society will be highlighting the work of its macular support groups, which help increase the confidence and independence of people affected by macular disease. There are 22 of these groups in Northern Ireland and more than 400 throughout the UK.

In Newcastle, the Macular Society, working in partnership with South 

Eastern Health and Social Care Trust and local volunteers, runs the Slieve Donard Visually Impaired Persons Group, which meets every other 

Tuesday — except for July and August — from 10.30am to 12.30pm in Newcastle Presbyterian Church.

In Northern Ireland, the Macular Society has been able to establish and run new sight loss support groups across the country thanks to £250,000 of National Lottery funding from the National Lottery Community Fund.

This vital investment has enabled the charity to triple the number of its support groups in Northern Ireland and deliver a range of other vital services since 2009.

Karen Toogood, regional manager for the Macular Society in Northern 

Ireland, said: “Events like these are a great way to raise awareness of macular disease and the effect it can have on a person’s life.

“Although there is no cure for macular disease at present, there are lots of things that can be done to reduce the speed of its progression and limit its impact.

“We’ll be offering lots of advice on this on the day, as well as the support that’s on offer to anyone living locally who has a macular condition.

“If you have central vision loss and want to know more, or if you have a friend or family member who has sight problems, then please come and see us at our stand.”

For more information about the Macular Society in Northern Ireland, please contact Karen on 028 9146 6305, or email karen.t@macularsociety.org.

For more information on Macular disease, call the Macular Society on 0300 3030 111 or email help@macularsociety.org.