Children’s Hospital Eye Care Liaison Officer launches new Visual Impairment Awareness training videos
Talia Treen has been in post for two years at our Children’s Hospital as an Eye Care Liaison Officer (ECLO).
ECLOS are non-medical and provide training, emotional support and advice to those dealing with Visual Impairment. Talia has been featured over recent months across our social media channels and in talk BWC, our monthly Trust newspaper, to create awareness about the help and support she can offer.
The role itself has recently marked its 30th anniversary. There are currently around 100 ECLOS working alongside clinicians in the UK to support those who are visually impaired to have a better quality of life.
Talia, from Great Barr, has always had a passion for working in this field as her mother is visually impaired. She wants to encourage people to seek help and not be ashamed.
In order to support creating open conversations, she has created a video training course, alongside a tour of her clinic room to showcase what she offers. Talia also offers tips and hints for those who have a family member, friend or colleague who is visually impaired.
Talia said: “Since featuring in talk BWC a couple of months ago, my case load has almost doubled, which is a positive.
“I wanted to launch some videos so other colleagues can learn skills to interact with visually impaired patients and families, so they have the support and confidence if I’m not available to come onto their ward.
“They are also for the public, patients and families, as these skills of knowing how best to interact with visually impaired people can be used in day-to-day life and activities.
Talia is qualified to provide official Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) training to families and colleagues who want to learn how to best support a visually impaired person. This covers what language to use (being descriptive and specific) and how to guide safely to a destination whilst maintaining that person’s autonomy. The new videos are designed to encompass all of this.
Talia said: “I wanted to create videos in a way that is fun and engaging to help and support colleagues and the public.
“I also wanted them to be formatted in an easy to learn step-by-step way with lots of recaps on how best to be aware and educated on the topic of visual awareness because people learn in lots of different ways.”
To watch the video and learn more about Talia’s role visit our youtube.