Since May 2023, Vision Care for Homeless People and Specsavers have been running an Experts by Experience group in Bristol. The group of 10 is supported by Expert Focus, a consultancy staffed by people with experience of homelessness, and led by Stan Burridge.
They started with answering questionnaires on their experience with eye care, then with training and support, the group has grown into an authentic and confident voice for improving access to eye tests and glasses.
At their regular sessions they have critiqued opticians’ services and pinpointed how the patient journey can create barriers for people with vulnerabilities. Their feedback has helped design training for opticians on how to make their services more inclusive. Their views have been put to politicians in parliament. They have spoken at a conference. We have been inspired by their insights and growing confidence. They have been inspired by the impact they have already made and by what they can achieve together.
We are delighted that Specsavers has agreed to support the group with funding for another year. This will broaden the remit to hearing care as well as eye care. The group will design and run their own outreach in Bristol. They are getting ready to speak out for people affected by homelessness by taking on media and communications training. Finally, they will bring their expertise to a new way of enabling patients to influence the services they receive which we are calling our Participation Preparation Protocol and we will be running a pilot of that in Manchester.
