Sensory Awareness
Individuals, their families, Perth and Kinross and Council, Vision PK, Scottish Care, NHS Tayside and all 3rd sector care providers are working collaboratively as our local See Hear Strategy Group to raise awareness around sensory awareness and to improve supports across the region.
| Local Services |
Vision PK VisionPK provide Statutory Services on behalf of Perth & Kinross Council:
Sight loss referrals come from NHS, community partners, the voluntary sector and from self-referrals, friends, and family. Most of the NHS referrals come from Certification of Sight impairment from the Consultant Ophthalmologist. We hold the Register of Sight Impairment on behalf of Perth and Kinross Council. So, when someone is seen at the eye clinic and certified, the certification comes to us which generates a referral, we get in touch to see if they consent to Registration and offer assessment of needs.
Because there are benefits to early input from our services, prior to certification, we’ve worked hard in recent years to catch people early in their sight loss journey and now over half our referrals are self-referrals.
Visually Impaired Rehab support starts with initial information gathering and assessment by phone or a home visit and further assessment of people in their home situation. It specialises in support with low vision (eg lighting, magnification) mobility, (e.g. training someone to use a white cane when out and about), supporting them to navigate confidently, practicing local routes.
A small amount of core equipment, funded by the Council, can also be offered to help people cope better at home. We can advise on specialist equipment, lighting, magnification, kitchen aids and technology. To access our services, you need to be 16+.
VisionPK Service Leaflet 2025 - PDF
Hearing loss supports: VisionPK also have a role in providing hearing loss support across Perth & Kinross.
There is no ‘registration’ process for people who have hearing loss, but we have good links with NHS Tayside Audiology Team, who include info about us in the packs they offer people when they are being fitted for hearing aids. Referrals are also received through partners, promotion, and publicity and local talks and awareness raising sessions. We have a close relationship with the Fire Service and cross refer. Clients and their families can self-refer to our services.
The process begins with contact via preferred method, discussion around the impact of the hearing loss and how it affects the persons day to day life.
We have a core list of assistive equipment that can be provided on a needs-led basis. This includes a loud doorbell with a flashing light, a ringer/flash for the telephone, a TV Loop that enables the person to listen to the TV through their hearing aids, and a personal listener for conversations that can boost the sound to their hearing aids and smoke alarm systems linked to vibrating pads under pillows or a pager system.
We also offer information on maintenance of hearing aids, how to access audiology, Tinnitus advice and support and communication hints and tips and anything else hearing loss related.
Tips for Living Well with Sight or Hearing Loss Come along to a drop-in and look at our demonstration kitchen and lounge. We also have equipment and technology that can help with your confidence and independence. Sight loss drop-in: Monday and Wednesday 1.30pm - 4.00pm. Hearing loss drop-in: Friday 1.30pm - 4.00pm.
Drop-in services:
Hearing Aid Drop In Services 2026 Dates - Drop In Clinics 2026 - Word Document
Tips for Living Well with Sight or Hearing Loss - Come along to a drop-in and look at our demonstration kitchen and lounge. We also have equipment and technology that can help with your confidence and independence. Drop-in sessions are now for both sight and hearing loss - Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 1.30 - 4.00pm. Please note we are closed between 12 and 1 for lunch. 17-19 George St, Perth PH1 5JY.
Macular Support Group – Last Wednesday of the month at VisionPK Sensory Hub – 10.15am - 12.00pm
Contacts VisionPK 174 High Street Perth, PH1 5UH Telephone: 01738 626969 Email: info@visionpk.org.uk
Our normal opening hours are: Monday – Friday 09:00am – 17:00pm
You can also contact us using Contact Scotland BSL.
If you are deaf / hard of hearing – use the contactScotland-BSL app to connect to an online interpreter. iOs and Android If you need to speak to someone who is deaf / hard of hearing (but you yourself can hear) – call 0131 510 4555 to connect to an online interpreter.
Scottish care The Independent Care sector is a key player in the health and social care integration agenda and are the biggest provider of social care in Scotland. To support this, Partners for Integration through Independent Sector Leads roles were set up and hosted by Scottish Care, aiming to ensure independent sector involvement in the delivery of the agreed outcomes for integration and so play a lead role in service improvement. Perth &Kinross HSCP has long funded a full-time Independent Sector Lead (ISL) post.
The Scottish Care ISL’s, build on experience, knowledge, and relationships to support providers and partners to meet current and future opportunities and challenges whilst representing the whole of the independent sector within care homes, care at home, daycare, and supported accommodation services. In addition to our work within our individual partnerships, I regularly work on Tayside wide projects, which enables me to maximise the impact of the independent sector voice being heard. One of my main roles as the ISL for Perth & Kinross is to influence and inform strategic developments, implementation and evaluation as well as supporting the re-design and recommissioning of health and social care services. This is achieved by sitting on various strategic groups within P&K HSCP committee/group structures. Membership of these strategic groups allows me regular focused contact (strategic and operational) between the partnership and the independent / third sector ensuring collaboration. In addition to being members of these strategic groups, I am also involved in a wide range of working groups within the partnership which allows them to be involved in the initial discussions, influencing policy at the very earliest stages of the decision-making process.
As Independent Sector Lead, communicating with and promoting engagement of managers and providers of Care Homes, Care at Home, Day Care and Supported Housing Services is a vital role of the ISL. We offer a clear point of contact with established methods for information sharing with the local care sector. We have built strong links with the care sector, through meetings such as the provider forums meetings, which are for all managers and/or providers, a space to come together to share, learn and provide peer support.
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| Sensory Awareness Learning and Development |
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The current training was developed in conjunction with Vision PK, Action for Hearing Loss and Perth and Kinross Council from materials that were provided through the Lothian Sensory Champion project, which involved Alzheimer’s Scotland, RNIB, Deaf Action, NHS Lothian and City of Edinburgh Council. sensory awreness learning perth and kinross see hear group october 2023.pdf
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| Sensory Awareness Toolkit | |||
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sensory awarness toolkit 2023 see hear group.pdf
If you are interested in learning for your organisation or your personal and or professional development, please send all inquiries to: HSCP Training HCCTraining@pkc.gov.uk.
Sensory Champion Role
Purpose of Role
As a Sensory Champion you will be working as part of the See Hear Joint Sensory Partnership Strategy to ensure that people on their sensory journey have:
Sensory Champions will be the key players in raising vision and auditory awareness across the various multi-disciplinary pathways involving a range of professionals.
Main Tasks
Some of the main tasks will include:
Innovative
This is an innovative project. It is hoped that with your help and support that this initial pioneering Sensory Champion training programme can be developed as an ongoing effective action plan operating throughout Perth and Kinross.
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| Learning Together | ||
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Training is being delivered across Perth and Kinross in both care home and community based settings. Recent participants included Catmoor Care Home (HC1 group) in Scone (14 participants), the Living Well Care Team from Perth and Kinross Council (12 participants), and our Learning and Development Team.
Catmoor House is a purpose-built care home with 40 beds offering nursing and nursing dementia care. The Care Home have actively been recruiting new staff with an emphasis placed on resident and care worker wellbeing. The manager Claire Innes and the staff team are committed to improving practice in the best interests of individuals and their families. They identified sensory needs as a core learning need across the home to support resident’s physical, social, emotional, and cognitive wellbeing. All individuals have their own person-centred communication passport that takes account of their hearing and eyesight needs, which provides guidance to staff on how best to meet these.
Living Well Care Team are a new service that commenced in April 2023 that have been developing and implementing a Continuous Professional Learning framework to ensure that they have a workforce which has the skills, knowledge and values to support those who access long term care at home. They have a staff team of 12 individuals that includes a learning and development officer and coach. LWC enables those individuals and their families / carers to have access to support which is locality based, person centred and will enable them to meet their outcomes and live better lives. Living Well Care is a Care at Home resource that was established to assist care at home, recruitment, flexibility and to support rural areas. They embed a holistic approach to care supporting community and locality- based resources that focuses on assisting individuals to achieve outcomes important to them.
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| See Hear Strategy |
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This strategic framework applies to children and adults living with sensory impairment: sensory impairment includes varying degrees of hearing loss, sight loss and loss of both of these senses and can be a recognised sensory impairment; a risk of sensory loss or hidden and untreated sensory loss. The document offers practical advice and direction plus nine recommendations to help achieve the following aims: 1.1. The seamless provision of assessment, care and support to children and adults with a sensory impairment. 1.2. Children and adults with a sensory impairment should expect the same access to education, employment, healthcare, social care and leisure as everyone else. 1.3. People who have or develop a sensory loss understand what this loss will mean for them. 1.4. People who have or develop a sensory loss are able to access information and be supported to take the maximum possible control over living as independently as possible, while also getting direct assistance when needed: appropriate communication is critical to this. 1.5. Children and young people with a sensory impairment should expect appropriate and timely intervention in the early years and for as long as is required. Key to the success of the Strategy will be person-centred local partnership working between statutory and third sector agencies
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