Supporting patients with vision loss
People with low vision or vision loss may face additional health and wellbeing challenges as they reconcile with the physical, emotional and social impacts of vision loss. Particularly if the changes to vision are recent.
Proactive support from primary healthcare professionals can help people experiencing vision loss to safely maintain mobility, confidence and quality of life. We’ve compiled a list of free resources that support health professionals and their patients to navigate healthcare conversations, available support services and more.
Resources and clinical tools for primary health care professionals
Aged Care Safety and Quality Commission has procured Vision Australia to provide clinical tools for working with patients in aged care settings who have vision loss. Access the clinical tools and resources through the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission webpage.
Queensland Health's disability campaign, 'See Me. Hear Me. Respect Me' has a factsheet for health professionals with helpful advice for working with people who are blind or have low vision.
Brisbane South HealthPathways provides clinicians with assessment, management and referral information on over 600 health conditions. View the HealthPathway for:
A range of free resources from Vision Australia are available to support general practice teams in caring for patients with vision impairment.
Print and share these materials with patients to support conversations in the consultation room and provide patients with reliable, accessible information to take home.
Access condition-specific information and communication resources to support patient discussions through Vision Australia’s supporting patients with vision loss webpage.
Healthcare professionals are encouraged to incorporate accessibility principles into patient-facing materials and can refer to Vision Australia’s preparing documents for patients with vision loss guide to support inclusive and accessible communication.
Information and resources for patients with vision loss
Queensland Blind Association Inc. has a list of local support groups for blind and vision impaired people.
Vision Australia’s Get to know your vision webpage provides information for people with low vision or vision loss, including:
navigating your diagnosis
understanding available technologies and tools to support you
finding services available to help you.