I did my pre-registration year at Moorfields Eye Hospital in the late 1970s and was trained the ‘Moorfields way’ in prescribing low vision aids. Over the last 30 years I have been seeing blind and partially sighted people for assessments and, while the Moorfields approach is effective at a functional level, I never really felt that I was addressing the real problems of the people in front of me. They were often distressed and having difficulty coming to terms with their new situation.
Unfortunately I have come to the conclusion that as a profession we do not provide the right help to recently diagnosed visually impaired people. The patient, on the other hand, dwells on what they used to have before losing their sight and wonders when they can get back to the world they have left.
Psychological model
Neither side really addresses where they are at present and how to understand the effects of this strange new land they inhabit. It is recognised that the visually impaired patient is suffering a loss, the classic psychological model for loss is the Elisabeth K