Sensory Impairment Team (West Dunbartonshire)

The Sensory Impairment Team provides a range of supports to people who have a hearing and/or visual impairment, they also offer advice, support and information to the carers of sensory impaired people and carry out assessments of carers' needs.

Referrals to the team can be made by people with a sensory impairment, by their families or friends, or by other services. Contact with a member of the team can be in a person's own home, in any HSCP Office, or in any other appropriate place. The person who has a sensory impairment can be accompanied by a member of their family or any other representative they may wish to help them to express their needs and opinions.

Specialist staff work along with people who have sight or hearing loss to identify ways to overcome difficulties, to assess the practical help they may need and to get support from other services. Members of the team work together with other professionals to assist people who have complex difficulties.

Assistance can include the provision of equipment to help people overcome practical problems.

We also provide awareness training to organisations who are in contact/working with people with a sensory impairment.

The emergency SMS service lets deaf and speech-impaired people in the UK send an SMS text message to the UK 999 service where it will be passed to the police, ambulance, fire rescue, or coastguard.

Simply by sending an SMS message to 999 you can call for help and the emergency services will be able to reply to you.