Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24

Welcome to our Annual Report for 2023-24.

Over the past year, we have continued to provide a wide range of services across Derby and Derbyshire. We began delivering the first year of the new Derbyshire County Council contract, providing rehabilitation, advice and support to people with sight loss, their families and carers, and to communities and professionals. Whilst this was a new contract, we have been able to build on our many successful years of experience delivering a similar service.

We also started delivering a befriending service to people with sight loss, focusing particularly on those people who are isolated and don’t get out. This service has done really well over the year and we are proud of the achievements to date. It is without doubt, a much-needed service and we are hoping that the evidence we gather over the two years of funding we have secured, will allow us to attract further funding to continue with this important work.

Our Eye Clinic Liaison Officers (ECLOs) have been busy at both Royal Derby and Chesterfield Royal Hospitals. The Eye Clinics have been extremely busy, with demand on our staff at an all-time high. Our ECLOs often provide the first port of call to those who receive a diagnosis of sight loss; helping patients to understand their condition, and providing advice and support to help people come to terms with the news.

Our work with children and young people has once again proved popular, with a programme of fun-packed activities and events. There was also another overnight residential in the year, giving chance for the young people to experience a range of outdoor activities and to have a night away.

Over the year, we sent out three newsletters to 5,000 visually impaired service users on our database. The newsletters contained information about our services, new developments and how people could contact us.

As always, we are extremely grateful for the support and hard work of our volunteers. It is only with their support that we are able to provide the range of support that we do. Over the year, we retained 60 active volunteers!

As a fund raising charity, every year we rely on the generosity of the public, and of grant making trusts and organisations for much of our income. In an increasingly competitive economic environment, raising funds continues to be a challenge. However, with a close eye on ensuring we make every pound count, we have delivered services and improved the lives of people with sight loss in Derbyshire.

This report gives a flavour of our work over the past year. We hope you enjoy reading about our achievements.