Sensory Service

1. Introduction to the Team

The London Borough of Sutton Sensory Service works with Adults and Children who are resident in Sutton whose sight or hearing loss is having an impact on their day-to-day lives. This includes people who have a dual sensory loss (both sight and hearing).

The service has specially trained Rehabilitation Officers who can arrange to visit people at home and can provide an assessment of needs and registration visits. Team members are Ann Gaynor, Michael Iles and Paul Chapman with management support from Hoa Nguyen and Rosemary Elston-Smith.

Examples of what the team can offer include information, advice and signposting, reablement, mobility training, provision of specialist equipment to help with daily living tasks, advice on lighting and contrast and referral to other organisations for services such as low vision assessments, social groups and benefits advice.

The sensory service is based within Adults Social Care and works in a multidisciplinary way with colleagues such as Occupational Therapists and Social Workers to safeguard and meet the needs of residents.

The service collaborates with Sutton ICB and Sutton Vision to facilitate the twice monthly community low vision clinic. The service also works with Audiology at St Helier Hospital and service users to provide sensory awareness training free of charge to the London Borough of Sutton and partner agencies, including care home and care agency staff.

The sensory service receives an average of 40 referrals per month. The time spent supporting each person ranges from around 4 hours, to weekly visits over several weeks depending on the need of the person. Spending on specialist equipment and adaptations for residents is on average £1000 per month.

The sensory service works with residents to increase their independence and to reduce risks such as risk of falls. The sensory staff are trusted assessors. The service is able to reduce the need for care, which provides overall savings for residents and the London Borough of Sutton.

2. Service Procedures and Processes

Practitioners working in the Sensory Service should follow available procedures and processes and guidance.

See: Local Resources

If anything is not available in the Local Resources please speak with your line manager.