A LIFE-CHANGING service in Dunfermline helping people diagnosed with sight loss has celebrated its fifth anniversary.

Run in partnership between RNIB Scotland, NHS Fife and Seescape, the Eye Clinic Liaison Officer (ECLO) helps people come to terms with their condition and find their lives again.

The service works with clinicians and nurses in Queen Margaret's Hospital in Dunfermline and the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, while Fife's own sight loss charity, Seescape, offers community support and rehabilitation.

"Imagine being told in a hospital eye clinic you are going to lose some or even all of your sight," says Wendy Millar, of national charity RNIB Scotland.

"The news can be devastating. A hundred questions race through your head while you're wondering: 'What will happen to my life ...?'

"In Fife, that's where myself and fellow ECLO Alex Grzywacz Kalaska can help. We offer people the emotional reassurance and practical help that they often need.

“People can go through a whole range of emotions – shock, denial, anger, fear and grief. Emotional support is a huge factor, just having someone to talk to and to be able to get some confidence that things will be alright.

"We're also supporting more and more families of people experiencing sight loss. Quite often they are at a crisis point and struggling to look after their loved ones.”

A 52-year-old patient, who prefers not to be named, remembers only too well how he felt when first diagnosed with a sight loss condition.

"I felt numb, horrified and speechless," he says. "I was so worried. When the consultant told us, we didn't know what to do. But the ECLO took away the stress.

“The guidance was first-class. It's a life-saving service – without it I would have disintegrated!

"The ECLO gave me confidence, helped me with my self-esteem – influenced me in a positive way on the decisions I made. Without this service, I wouldn't have known where to go or what to do.

"I would thoroughly recommend the ECLO service in Fife. It's a no-brainer, an absolute must! You don't know enough yourself. Without the ECLO, my situation would have been very scary!

"I was also referred to Seescape, the local sensory team. They helped with aids and were very good.

“Seescape made a huge difference by providing me with a bus pass, making public transport more accessible – they offered lots of support, too.”

Wendy and Alex enjoy close working relationships with staff at both hospitals and consultant ophthalmologists with NHS Fife have praised the work of the service.

Dr Adam Lewis said: "Wendy and Alex provide a vital service for some of our most vulnerable patients. They dedicate an enormous amount of time and care and open up a wealth of resources and information for patients. Their support to patients, and to us as ophthalmologists, is invaluable.”

Lesley Carcary, chief executive officer of Seescape, said: "Seescape has worked with the ECLO service in Fife for a number of years and have found our partnership to be an invaluable means of reaching out to visually-impaired people who we would otherwise struggle to reach."