The added value of a Communicator Guide
The social value we add to the wider community is huge. Not only in terms of actual spending in the community but also in savings towards the public purse.
Hearing loss is recognised as a contributing factor to Dementia.
Moreover, sight loss is recognised as a contributing factor to increasing falls in older people.
The cost of care for people with dementia in the UK is £37.4 billion (https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-us/policy-and-influencing/dementia-scale-impact-numbers).
And the cost of treating people from falls in the UK is £4.4 billion (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/falls-applying-all-our-health/falls-applying-all-our-health).
The purple pound
Without Communicator Guides or Sighted Guides deafblind and visually impaired residents are unable to access universal goods and services.
The purple pound contributes £249 billion to the UK economy. And our services are provided under the Equality Act 2010. This enables people with sensory needs to be consumers in their local environment and further afield. Trust me – people with sensory loss are very happy when they can go shopping!
Savings for the NHS
The social value our service brings to health services is immeasurable.
When people with sensory needs have accessible medical appointments there is a notable saving. Because they require fewer repeat visits as well as less waste in unused medications.
And in the current climate more medical appointments are taking place over the telephone. Our support workers are making telephone health consultations accessible. This ensures deafblind people remain in control of their health and wellbeing.
Savings for the Local Authority
And of course the social value to keeping people moving both physically and mentally reduces the risk of their muscles, including their brains, from atrophying.
As mentioned earlier, using a specialist support worker from Indigo Access will keep people active for longer, which has huge benefits in reducing falls and dementia.
This has a huge saving potential for local authorities and the NHS.
What can Communicator Guides do?
We work as the eyes and ears of the deafblind person. Therefore making everyday experiences accessible.
There is more information on our blog “The Deafblind Specialist Assessment”.
Also take a look at our page “Communicator Guides”.