The Team provides services to both adults and children who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, partially sighted, visually impaired or have a Dual Sensory Loss.
We provide advice and assistance about your hearing or sight loss; specialist equipment on the basis of assessed need and access to communication support.
The team consists of rehabilitation workers, social workers and equipment officers. We work with the Low Vision Clinic who assess and provide service users with equipment to aid vision on a daily basis. We also work with the Audiology department, who supply and fit the most appropriate digital hearing aid.
Individuals referred to the Sensory Support Service must be resident within the South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust and meet one of the following criteria:
- Have a significant sight loss that cannot be corrected by spectacles
- Be profoundly deaf or have been assessed as having a diagnosed hearing condition by an Audiology Department
-
Referral
The team offices operate a duty system each day, where a duty officer can help with your query or take a referral for the team. We accept referrals from service users, carers or family members, G.P’s and other healthcare professionals and voluntary organisations. Children under the age of 18 must be referred to the team via the Trust Gateway service, on Tel: 0300 1000 300
Referrals can also be made using the sensory support email address. This is checked daily between 9am and 1pm. The address is sensorysupport@setrust.hscni.net
-
Out of hours
Please click here for emergency out of hours social work details.
Please click here for Emergency SMS Contact Details.
Members of the Deaf community can also use Tapsos which is an app available for anyone to use. Tapsos can be downloaded from google playstore or Apple’s app store. Tapsos is free to use. Please look at the website for further details at www.tapsos.com
-
Subtitled Video Resources
-
Sensory Support Services in Northern Ireland (Subtitled Video)
-
Further Support Organisations
RNIB
Victoria House
15 – 17 Gloucester St
Belfast
BT1 4LS
Tel: (028) 9032 9373
RNIB Helpline: 0303 123 9999
Click here for RNIB Services BookletRNID (previously Action on Hearing Loss)
Harvester House
4-8 Adelaide St
Belfast
BT2 8GA
Tel: (028) 9023 9619
www.rnid.org.uk
Sign video replaced Interpreter Now. Sign video is a free app that can be used by the Deaf community to contact health staff such as a GP or social worker. However the app also has a list of other services who have signed up to it such as Lifeline, some banks and other businesses. It is a remote sign language interpreting service. You can connect using a smartphone, tablet or computer. The signvideo app can be downloaded at www.signvideo.co.uk/download -
RNID Hearing Aid User Support Services
Resources:
Click Here for RNID Near You Support Sessions for NHS Hearing Aid Users 2023
Click Here for Bangor – 2023 Support Service.
Click Here for Donaghadee – 2023 Support Service.
Click Here for Newtownards – 2023 Support Service.
Click Here for Lisburn – 2023 Support Service.
Click Here for Portaferry – 2023 Support Service.
Click Here for Downpatrick – 2023 Support Service.
Click Here for Newcastle – 2023 Support Service.
Click Here for Portavogie – 2023 Support Service.
-
ID card for people with sight loss
Eye can Master from Northern Trust on Vimeo.
- Disability Training video (Subtitled)