Sight loss plays a major role in people's experience of dementia, yet it is almost entirely excluded from current models of care.
A research project (Lawrence, 2009) led by Professor Sube Banerjee at Kings College, London, and supported by Thomas Pocklington Trust, shows that in dementia a person's orientation, recognition, recall and judgement are all exacerbated by sight loss, making the impact of dementia worse.
Sight loss can increase feelings of confusion, isolation and fear and this, in turn, may trigger aggression. At the same time, a person's ability to cope with sight loss is reduced by dementia. The research suggests that responding to people's sight loss could reduce both the distress of dementia and the likelihood of disruptive behaviour.
As well as staff training in eye conditions and dementia, staff need to have access to aids and equipment. The RNIB works
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