In Touch Folgen

Access services in supermarkets are, for some blind and visually impaired people, an essential service to gather the exact groceries you need. Services like assisted shopping, where a member of staff takes you around the store gathering items for you, are offered by a lot of supermarkets but some were suspended during the pandemic. Auriol Britton decided to take Sainsbury's Supermarkets to court when she had a problem with her local store in Bristol, primarily based on the suspension of their assisted shopping service. We invited Auriol onto the program to outline the problem she had and what happened in court.Demand for eye services is rising rapidly and the NHS is struggling to keep up. Well, The Eyes Have It is a partnership between the Macular Society, Fight for Sight, The Royal College of Ophthalmologists and other sight loss organisations and they held a parliamentary a drop-in event at Westminster last week. They are calling for a national eye care plan to tackle the problems patients are facing. Our reporter Fern Lulham provides the details. (NB - Dr Peter Hampson is from the Association of Optometrists.)And swimming can be a great form of exercise for blind and visually impaired people but keen swimmer Aletea Sellers contacted us when she had a problem in getting access provisions put in place at her local swimming pools. She tells us the responses she got, good and bad.Presenter: Peter White Producer: Beth Hemmings Production Coordinator: Liz Poole Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image. He is wearing a dark green jumper with the collar of a check shirt peeking at the top. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo, Across Peter's chest reads "In Touch" and beneath that is the Radio 4 logo. The background is a series of squares that are different shades of blue.

Dr Paul Jarman contacted us following our coverage of what changes had occurred since the RNIB took over the National Library for the Blind. He noted something that we had not mentioned. He believes there has been a seismic shift toward students and tutors like him, no longer being able to access as many serious books as once before. He lays out his concerns in this area and explains why he believes braille books should be regarded as heritage items.Our reporter in Washington, Gary O'Donoghue talks us through a new partnership between access tech companies Aira and Envision. Together, they have created 'smart glasses' that enable you to be put in contact with a sighted agent, completely hands-free. Gary demonstrates how they can be used to assist with daily tasks and navigation.Presenter: Peter White Producer: Beth Hemmings Production Coordinator: Paul Holloway Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image. He is wearing a dark green jumper with the collar of a check shirt peeking at the top. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo, Across Peter's chest reads "In Touch" and beneath that is the Radio 4 logo. The background is a series of squares that are different shades of blue.

Three visually impaired people tell us about their experiences of domestic abuse. The cases involve the perpetrator using their visual impairments against them, though gaslighting, coercive control and in one case, extreme violence being the cause of their visual impairment. These stories come in the light of a report called The Unseen, by The Vision Foundation and Safe Lives. Olivia Curno, The Vision Foundation's Chief Executive gives summary of the report's harrowing findings.Link to The Unseen domestic abuse report: https://www.visionfoundation.org.uk/our-work/research/the-unseen/If you are at risk of domestic abuse, contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247. If you are in immediate danger, call 999 and ask for the police.Presenter: Peter White Producer: Beth Hemmings Production Coordinator: Liz Poole Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image. He is wearing a dark green jumper with the collar of a check shirt peeking at the top. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo, Across Peter's chest reads "In Touch" and beneath that is the Radio 4 logo. The background is a series of squares that are different shades of blue.