Sensory Support

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

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• 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 Booklet

   

  

   

  RNID (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)

  Disability Equality from NHSCT Organisation Development on Vimeo.