Wales Council of the Blind

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Benchmarking Report.

Visual Impairment Benchmarking Study Summary Report.

Monitoring Progress.

The benchmarking group recognises that the production of this report and accompanying Good Practice Guides is only the first step in our aim of achieving consistently high standards and continuous improvement in visual impairment services across Wales.
In order to ensure that this work has maximum impact over the coming months and years, the group considers it important that progress against the recommendations and standards that have been identified is monitored on a regular basis. One way of doing this would be to continue to meet as a visual impairment network on a regular basis, and take the opportunity to evaluate whether improvements are being achieved, and whether any further work is needed to support and promote better practice. In particular, through regular meetings of this type the network would be able to:

  • consider how far the recommendations and standards contained in the Good Practice Guides have stimulated changes in local (and national) policy, resource levels, structure of services etc., and to identify the need — if any — for modifications to the recommendations and standards;
  • determine whether, as intended, the outcomes of the study have provided a means for managers and staff working in this area to raise the profile of the service, and if not what the obstacles to this have been;
  • report back on positive changes that have resulted from the study and share good practice with each other; and
  • continue to discuss national and local policy changes and consider how best to respond to these at a local level.

Arrangements for facilitating and resourcing the network will be discussed further over the coming months.

If you have any comments on this report, or would like to provide your own views on the impact the study has made on visual impairment services in Wales, you can contact the visual impairment network through:

[Updated]
Phil Stevens,
c/o Wales Council for the Blind,
2nd Floor, Hallinans House, 22 Newport Road, Cardiff CF24 0TD.
Tel: 029 20 473 954 / Fax: 029 20 433 920.
Email: phil[at]wcb-ccd.org.uk

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