See and Hear Shropshire exhibition – bigger and better than ever before
Bigger and better than ever before, the annual See and Hear Shropshire exhibition, now in its 8th year, will take place at Shrewsbury Sports Village on Wednesday 13 May 2015.
The aim of the event is to raise awareness, and help improve the quality of life of those with sensory impairment.
See and Hear Shropshire welcomes all to come and see what is on offer at this year’s event:
- Free eye screening to prevent avoidable sight loss
- Test your lipreading skills
- Have your ears checked at the hearing maintenance clinic in the touring caravan, which has been generously supplied by Salop Leisure, Go Explore!
- Sports taster sessions and all ability cycling
- Discover how to use an accessible cashpoint
- Try out up and coming portable technology like the ‘Smart Ear’ and a variety of smart phones, tablets and landline phones
- Attend an information session on dementia awareness, Level 1 Sighted Guide Training and an Assistance Dog Demonstration. Sessions will be available throughout the day.
- View a wide range of technology, which can help improve the lives of those with sensory impairment
- Find information, which will include information on the new Care Act, as well as on the services available to you in and around Shropshire
- There will be a service that may be able to help your tired feet after exploring the exhibition
- Sighted Guides, BSL and Deaf Blind interpreters will be available.
Stephen Chandler, Shropshire Council’s director for adult social care, said:
“This year’s See and Hear Shropshire exhibition promises to be an excellent event with more on offer than ever before.
“It will showcase many services and the great range of support on offer to help people remain as independent as possible, for longer. We look forward to seeing you there.”
On the day, a free shuttle bus will be operating from Shrewsbury railway station every half hour from 9.30am.
For more information about the event, visit the Shropshire Council website by clicking here.
The exhibition is organised by The See and Hear Shropshire Partnership, which includes Shropshire Council’s Vision Technology and Training and the sensory impairment team, Sight Loss Shropshire, Guide Dogs and Shropshire Rural Community Council.
Shropshire Council also wants to use this opportunity to remind people of the register of visual impairment.
Certification of sight loss is carried out by an eye specialist, called a consultant ophthalmologist. Registration follows on from this and is a way of letting the council know that a person needs help: it is also useful for them to prove to other organisations that they are blind or partially sighted.
Robin Durham, Sight Loss Shropshire Secretary, said:
“The benefits of registration include a range of concessions such as free bus travel and free directory enquiries. Holding a registration card will help prove entitlement to free concessions like this and help with requests for assistance when you are out, particularly if you do not use a white cane or a guide dog and your sight problem may not be obvious to other people.
“Registration is not only of real benefit to someone with sight loss, it also helps health and care services to plan what they provide for people with sight loss.“
For further information visit www.sightlossshropshire.org.uk – this includes links to other useful websites with information about help for people with sight loss.
