The final Collaboration Workshop of 2019 was held in the Conference Centre facilities on the ChildVision campus at their headquarters on Grace Park Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9. The feedback from the day was very positive overall with staff welcoming the opportunity to meet with and learn about their peer colleagues and other sight-loss organisations.
Aims of the Collaboration Workshop:
To develop service quality across VISPA organisations by ensuring that all staff have a common approach, knowledge and skills to interact with service users in an appropriate, comfortable and confident manner.
To improve collaboration, communication and networking amongst VISPA staff/organisations.
Objectives/Outcomes:
By the end of the day participants learned:
- What VISPA is about and what initiatives are underway or are being planned.
- Developed an awareness and understanding of the approach and context of how services are provided to people with sight loss including:
- Person Centredness
- Valuing diversity and inclusion
- Empowerment, promoting independence
- Recognised the impact of sight loss on an individual’s day to day life by knowing
- how the eye works
- the functional implications of different types of sight loss
- visual and non-visual methods of promoting individual ability
- Know how to interact with service users in an appropriate manner using guiding skills, clear language and encouraging individual ability
- A lot more about the role and function of each VISPA organisation
- Have made contact with and had an opportunity to share knowledge and experience with staff in other VISPA organisations
- Participated in discussions and conversations on how the four organisations might collaborate and cooperate in the future on improving and delivery services to users in a timely, appropriate, person-centred, and accessible approach.