Posted By SCOTT M
Hi,

We have a colleague in our office who suffers from Retinitis Pigmentosa, which is a degenerative eye disease leading the sufferer to only have tunnel vision and no peripheral vision.

Does anyone have any experience of this type of illness and what we should be doing for him.

I am about to conduct a Risk Assessment but have not done anything like this before.

Any suggestions people???

Many thanks

Scott

Posted By Rachael Palmer
Have you contacted the RNIB for advice?

Posted By David Horenr
Scott,
you must carryout a disabled persons risk assessment; in this particular case relative to visual impairment. The controls subsequently identified will enable your employer to comply with the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act i.e. make reasonable adjustments to accommodate your colleague. I have done a fair amount of this type of work, it is highly specialised, but I am will to send you an example risk assessment if required; e-mail david.horner@bodtcote.com

Posted By David Matthew
As previously suggested make sure you involve your colleague as they, from my own experience, will inform you of things that you probably wouldn't have thought of.

Things that I would suggest you should consider are:
making sure drawers are not left open, making sure bags are tucked away so that people don't fall over the straps (laptop bags a major culprit), a buddy system in the case of an emergency (you should amend your fire risk assessment as well), don't leave cups/ drinks on the edges of desks, colour schemes - many companies have matching carpets, wooodwork, chairs etc which all looks very nice but can make it very difficult for visually impaired people to navigate safely round the office, how the person gets to the office - do they walk through the car park or are they able to be delivered to the door and with the full permission of your colleague advise the rest of your workforce because if they know why they will generally do what is required even if they do need a bit of reminding.

It might also be an idea to contact the local authority as they usually have teams of advisors who can look at your workplace and advise accordingly and sometimes there might be money available.

Hope this helps.

David

Posted By Giles Kendrick
Good advice above. We found that an extendable/adjustable monitor arm was a great purchase when we had a similar situation. I believe the employee may also be entitled to grants for special software to make screens easier to read for certain impairments? Would suggest asking the RNIB about this.

Also don't forget about emergency procedures:
http://www.workplacelaw....lay.php?resource_id=8925

Posted By Fred Pratley
All of the above is sound advice.

We have 2 employees with this condition, one office & one industrial stores setting. One is expected to need a guide dog in the next 18 months or so.

Of primary importance is consultation with the person regarding anything you want to "do for them"

Experience shows that contrast basically black/white is important.

Also, don't forget your fire risk assessment as he will classify as special needs and I suspect you need to have a buddy system as if he were truly blind.

Happy to go over any specific details if you want to email me.

Regards Fred