With the publication of the RNIB Life on Pause report stating that thousands of people with sight loss remain Out of Sight, with challenges in accessing local vision rehabilitation services leaving them without the support that they need to live life to the full.

RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey caught up with Chloe Hesse about not only coming to terms with her sight loss but also her journey with local vision rehabilitation 

To find out more about the Life on Pause report and how you can get involved in the Out of Sight campaign and sign the petition calling on the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, to make sure blind and partially sighted people get the support they need, when they need it do visit - https://www.rnib.org.uk/campaign-with-us/support-a-campaign/out-of-sight/

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RNIB are launching a new phase of their Out of Sight Campaign and you can get involved.

Amelia spoke to Vivienne Francis, RNIB Chief Strategy And Public Affairs Officer, to learn more.

To sign the petition visit: https://bit.ly/RNIBOutOfSight

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A pivotal European clinical trial of a new electronic eye implant has seen remarkable results.  The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed 84% of participants were able to read letters, numbers and words using prosthetic vision through an eye that had previously lost its sight due to the untreatable progressive eye condition, geographic atrophy with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). 

RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey was joined by Mahi Muqit, senior vitreoretinal consultant at Moorfields Eye Hospital and the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London who lead the UK arm of the trial to explain more about the results of the study and the technology used too.

There is more information about this new pioneering eye device on the following pages of the Moorfields Eye Hospital website which also includes a link to register on the Moorfields research portal, ROAM which will give you access to current and future research - https://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/about-us/news-and-blogs/news/pioneering-eye-device-restores-reading-vision-to-blind-eyes

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UK sight loss charity RNIB, has launched the first round of its job placements for blind and partially sighted people.

RNIB Connect Radio’s Allan Russell spoke to Heather Barbara, RNIB Employment Advisor, to find out more.

If you’d like more info on the job placements, go to www.rnib.org.uk/jobs

You can also call the Helpline on 0303 123 9999

#RNIBConnect

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Find out about a Peer-to-Peer Support Group in Northern Ireland, that helps connect blind and partially sighted 18- to 35-year-olds.

Organised by RNIB Northern Ireland, the group organises engaging activities for members to try out and do something fun together.

Speaking with RNIB Connect Radio's Paulina Kuchorew are members of the group, Natalie Devine and Cerys Stewart.

To inquire about the group, call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or email [email protected] 

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Each week, RNIB Connect Radio's Allan Russell sits down with Matt Stringer, CEO of RNIB, to look at some of the big stories coming from the UK sight loss charity.

This week Matt talks about, a new tech offering from Be My Eyes and Tesco, there’s news from Waymo and are you thinking about Christmas?

If you, or someone you know, would like information on the support and services available from RNIB, go to www.rnib.org.uk

You can call our Helpline on 0303 123 9999 

Or ask your Amazon device to call RNIB's Helpline.

#RNIBConnect

Image Show  CEO of RNIB, Matt Stringer, Matt Is Wearing Glasses And A Grey Jacket

RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey is joined again by Vidar Hjardeng MBE, Inclusion and Diversity Consultant for ITV News across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands for the next of his regular audio described theatre reviews.

As we celebrate the 250 anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, we have a brand new stage adaptation of her comedy of manners with ‘Emma’ presented by Bath Theatre Royal at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre with description by Professional Audio Describer Carolyn Smith

About ‘Emma’ 

“I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like”

The beautiful, high-spirited Emma Woodhouse is determined that she will never marry but loves to meddle in her friends and neighbours’ relationships. When her confidante and former governess, Miss Taylor weds her fiancé Mr Weston, Emma, having introduced the couple, takes credit for the marriage and decides that a future in matchmaking lies ahead of her.

So begins a comic journey through the lives and loves of Emma’s acquaintances but as the romantic web she weaves amongst her friends becomes ever more entangled, will Emma herself get swept up in true love’s wake…?

Jane Austen’s enduring comedy of manners is filled with memorable characters – the dashing Mr Knightley, Emma’s friends Jane Fairfax and Harriet Smith, the mercenary Reverend Elton and his delightfully pretentious wife Augusta. This delightful new stage adaptation celebrates the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen‘s birth.

To find out more about Bath Theatre Royal’s production of Emma as it continues on it’s UK tour do visit - https://www.theatreroyal.org.uk/events/emma/

And for more about access at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre do go to - https://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/your-visit/accessibility/

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Lets hear about another company that’s achieved RNIB’s Visibly Better Employer standard. David Hogg speaks to Alex Winstanley from Happy Smiles Training and RNIB Employment Advisor Roy Imeson.

Channel 4’s reality challenge series ‘Hunted’ has returned. Ordinary people on the run from a team of expert hunters. But how different would the challenge be if you were partially sighted? Hywel Davies has been speaking to two of this year’s contestants.

International theatre-collective Fish in a dress will be bringing their critically-acclaimed show ‘The City for Incurable Women’ back to the Camden people’s Theatre from 22 - 25 October 2025 with audio description at every performance. 

‘The City for Incurable Women’ is an outrageous tale of medical misogyny based on the true story of patients performing 'hysteria' onstage in 19th century Paris.

RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey caught up with Helena McBurney, co-founder of International theatre-collective Fish in a Dress who also wrote ‘The City for Incurable Women’ to find out more about the show and the collective too.

For more about ‘The City for Incurable Women’ by Fish in a Dress and the AD performances at Camden People’s Theatre do visit - https://cptheatre.co.uk/whatson/The-City-for-Incurable-Women-2025

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