Filling the gap where patients used to fall: evaluating the role and impact of Eye Clinic Liaison Officers and other vision support workers across the United Kingdom, Royal National Institute of Blind People

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) commissioned the Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care (WIHSC), University of South Wales working in partnership with the Swansea Centre for Health Economics (SCHE), Swansea University, to evaluate the impact that patient information and support services in UK NHS ophthalmology departments makes for patients, the clinic and on services more generally.

RNIB were interested to understand the difference that those that provide patient information or support services (most typically called eye clinic liaison officers – ECLOs, or vision support officers) make where they are present in clinics – whether defined in health-related quality of life outcomes (HRQoL) for people with sight loss, capturing or quantifying other benefits that they bring to the running of the clinic.