Royal National Institute of Blind People

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RNIB
Royal National Institute of Blind People
Formation16 October 1868 (1868-10-16)
Type Registered charity
Headquarters154a Pentonville Road, London N1 9JE
Location
Coordinates 51°31′54″N0°06′53″W / 51.5317°N 0.1148°W / 51.5317; -0.1148
Region served
United Kingdom
Chief Executive
Matt Stringer
Key people
Anna Tylor (Chair) [1]
Website www.rnib.org.uk
Formerly called
British and Foreign Society for Improving the Embossed Literature of the Blind
British and Foreign Blind Association
National Institute for the Blind
Royal National Institute for the Blind
Royal National Institute of the Blind

RNIB (formally, the Royal National Institute of Blind People and previously the Royal National Institute for the Blind) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom that offers practical and emotional support to blind and partially sighted people, their families and carers. [2] It is regarded as a leader in the field in supporting people in the UK who have vision loss. [3] RNIB also seeks to increase awareness of the day-to-day experiences of people who are blind or partially sighted and campaigns for UK society to become more accessible to them.

Contents

The Charity Commission for England and Wales investigated the charity from 2015 to 2019 and said that its failings which included medical errors and undocumented cases of physical restraint at its schools and residential facilities were some of the worst it had ever dealt with. [4] [5]

Organisation

Anna Tylor has been RNIB's Chair since 2020. [1] Matt Stringer was appointed Chief Executive in 2019. [6]

King Charles III is the charity's Patron. [7] His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was RNIB's Patron from the start of her reign in 1952 until her death in 2022. [8]

History

RNIB was first established on 16 October 1868 as the British and Foreign Society for Improving the Embossed Literature of the Blind. [9] The first meeting, which was held at 33 Cambridge Square, Hyde Park, London, involved founder Thomas Rhodes Armitage (a physician who was partially sighted) and Daniel Conolly, W W Fenn and Dr James Gale (all three of whom were blind). [9]

Later, the organisation became the British and Foreign Blind Association for Improving the Embossed Literature of the Blind and Promoting the Employment of the Blind – generally shortened to the British and Foreign Blind Association. [9]

In 1914, the organisation changed its name to The National Institute for the Blind, or NIB, to reflect its status as a national body involved in all aspects of the welfare of blind people. [10]

The organisation was officially renamed the Royal National Institute for the Blind in 1953, having received a Royal Charter in 1949. [11] In 2002, the organisation was renamed the Royal National Institute of the Blind ("of" rather than "for" blind people) when it became a membership organisation. [12] To coincide with the launch of the UK Vision Strategy in 2008, it was renamed the Royal National Institute of Blind People. [10]

In October 2008, RNIB and Action for Blind People agreed in principle to combine some services across England. The new arrangement began in April 2009, resulting in Action for Blind People becoming an associate charity of RNIB. [13] It merged with RNIB in 2017.

Scope

RNIB's remit has always included reading and writing (e.g. Braille), education and employment. [14] [15] From the 20th century, welfare/social support has been important. [16] [15] However, it was not till the late-1980s that eye health became a major focus. [15] Previously, eye health was seen as the sole prerogative of ophthalmologists and optometrists. [15]

Premises

In 1914, the organisation relocated to larger premises in Great Portland Street. [10] From 2000 until 2023, RNIB operated from premises on Judd Street, in Bloomsbury, London, which it shared with Guide Dogs. [17]

In 2023, The Duchess of Edinburgh opened the organisation's new headquarters in the Grimaldi Building on Pentonville Road, London, which has been adapted to cater for the needs of people who are blind, partially sighted or neurodiverse. [18] [19]

Programmes and services

Helpline

RNIB's helpline gives access to sight loss experts for questions and guidance. [20]

Reading services

RNIB offers an extensive range of reading services. They include RNIB Bookshare – a free library of over one million items, which supports students and others in education with a vast collection of accessible textbooks and materials [21] – and Talking Books, [22] which offers thousands of audio books, both fiction and non-fiction. [23]

Eye Care Liaison Officers

RNIB’s ECLO (Eye Care Liaison Officers) service aims to help patients understand the impact of a sight loss diagnosis and to direct them to appropriate sources of support. [24]

Sooty collection boxes

Since the 1950s, the children's fictional puppet character Sooty is an exclusive feature on the charity's collection boxes. [25]

Campaigning

RNIB campaigns to change behaviours and perceptions around sight loss. It has been involved with several large-scale campaigns including calls for action to create a safer and more inclusive public transport system. In 2023, the charity played a key role [26] [27] [28] in the campaign to scrap plans to close ticket offices in train stations. [29]

In 2022, the charity launched its largest-ever advertising campaign, See the person, not the sight loss, to raise awareness of sight loss and the support that people who have visual impairments might need. [30] [31] [32]

Along with other leading health charities, RNIB lobbied throughout 2023 for better disability support across the National Health Service (NHS). [33]

Charity Commission Inquiry

In 2015, the Charity Commission for England and Wales launched an inquiry into RNIB following serious allegations of systemic failings within the organisation [5] and allegations of "sexually abusive practice". [4] [34] The inquiry uncovered significant management, oversight, and staffing shortcomings that led to repeated incidents where young people in the charity's care were put at risk or harmed. [5] [35] Moreover, it revealed that staff and trustees at RNIB had been guilty of misconduct and mismanagement in several of its care facilities over several years, breaching their duty of care to beneficiaries. The Charity Commission described this investigation as one of the most severe cases of charity failure. [36] It highlighted that RNIB's corporate stewardship of services for children with complex needs fell far short of expectations [35] and that the charity's board had been focused on narrow regulatory compliance and dismissive of criticism from the regulatory organisations it was accountable to – the Care Quality Commission and Ofsted. [5] [37] [38]

The Charity Commission's report stated that the RNIB had failed to protect its beneficiaries from coming to harm. Moreover, serious safeguarding breaches had occurred within the charity due to systemic weaknesses and the absence of a centralised data-management system for its care settings. [38] [37] As part of the inquiry, the Charity Commission heard from multiple parties involved with the charity who attributed its failings to dysfunctional leadership and governance over many years. [38]

It also found that the RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning, a residential school near Coventry, failed to ensure its staff had adequate training, made multiple administration errors, neglected to document incidents of physical restraint, lacked effective safeguarding procedures, and administered the wrong medication on numerous occasions. [35] The inquiry also found inadequate responses to complaints about unexplained injuries and improper management of medical care, possibly due to a reliance on unqualified and temporary staff.

In September 2018 RNIB announced that both the children's home and school would close in November 2018. [39]

Two of the charity's institutional creditors considered it to have defaulted on its credit agreement terms because of the Pears Centre's regulatory difficulties and Ofted's proposed cancellation of the establishment's registration. Therefore, its creditors declared that the organisation had to pay £21 million immediately. [5] Subsequently, RNIB sold all 18 of its care homes and schools to mitigate the financial crises and limit the impact on its reputation. [4]

The charity's former chief executive and four of its trustees resigned at the start of the inquiry. Five RNIB staff members were referred to the Disclosure and Barring Service after an audit uncovered 26 unreported serious incidents across the charity's facilities from March 2017 to April 2018. [4]

RNIB’s chief executive, Matt Stringer, apologised for the failings. [4] RNIB said that the Charity Commission's findings "represent a low point in our 152-year history" and claimed to have "turn[ed] the service around" in response to the inquiry and report. [40]

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 White, Peter (15 December 2020). The RNIB's New Chair Of Trustees Anna Tylor. BBC ( In Touch broadcast on Radio 4). Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  2. ↑ "RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People)". Information Now. Newcastle City Council Adult Social Care and Prevention. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  3. ↑ "Blindness and vision loss". NHS . Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Watt, Holly (5 April 2018). "RNIB and subsidiary under investigation over abuse allegation". The Guardian . Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Charity Inquiry: The Royal National Institute of Blind People (226227) and RNIB Charity (1156629)". Charity Commission for England and Wales . Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  6. ↑ Weakley, Kirsty (25 April 2019). "RNIB appoints Matt Stringer as new chief executive". Civil Society. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  7. ↑ McCormick, Emily (29 May 2024). "RNIB appoints King Charles as royal patron". Optometry Today. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  8. ↑ Young, Kimberley; Powell, Selina (9 September 2022). "Tributes paid to Queen Elizabeth II". Optometry Today. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 Thomas, p.113
  10. 1 2 3 "Royal National Institute of Blind People 1868". Science Museum Group . London. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  11. ↑ Thomas, pp.142-43.
  12. ↑ Bruce, p.229
  13. ↑ Little, Matthew (24 October 2009). "RNIB and Action for Blind People announce 'associate' deal". Third Sector . Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  14. ↑ Thomas
  15. 1 2 3 4 Rose
  16. ↑ Thomas
  17. ↑ Wait, Sam (23 January 2023). "Guide Dogs moves out of RNIB office share after five years". Civil Society. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  18. ↑ "HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh opens the RNIB's new London office". Greater London Lieutenancy . 15 June 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  19. ↑ Pearson, Andrew (6 November 2023). "RNIB's new HQ becomes exemplar in designing for blind and neurodiverse people". Royal Institute of British Architects . Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  20. ↑ Hemmings, Beth (27 June 2023). "In Touch: The Support Hub; The RNIB's Helpline Services". BBC Radio 4 . Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  21. ↑ "Accessibility: RNIB Bookshare". University of Exeter Library. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  22. ↑ "RNIB talking book service – Visual impairment support". Scottish Borders Council . Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  23. ↑ "Talking books and audio publications". Blind Veterans UK. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  24. ↑ "CarePlace directory – Eye Care Liaison Officers (ECLO) – support for blind and partially sighted people". London Borough of Hounslow . Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  25. ↑ Dickenson, Andy (28 February 2022). "Volunteers needed to collect 'Sooty boxes' as blind charity's takings fall". ITV News . Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  26. ↑ "Train firms plan mass closures of ticket offices". BBC News . 5 July 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  27. ↑ Topham, Gwyn (5 July 2023). "Plans for mass closure of railway ticket offices in England confirmed". The Guardian . Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  28. ↑ Simone, Carlo (5 July 2024). "Why could train station ticket offices be shut in England?". The Standard. Chester. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  29. ↑ Munro, Craig (5 July 2023). "Almost every rail ticket office in England to be closed in next three years". Metro . Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  30. ↑ Louis, Yasmeen (30 October 2023). "RNIB dispels myths to 'see the person, not the sight loss'". Marketing/ Beat. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  31. ↑ "RNIB launches new campaign to dispel myths and encourage people to 'See the person, not the sight loss'". Eye News. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  32. ↑ Mahtani, Nisna (8 November 2022). "Why the RNIB Wants You to 'See the Person, Not the Sight Loss'". Little Black Book. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  33. ↑ Pickover, Ella (6 February 2023). "Concern over lack of progress supporting people with communication needs in NHS". The Independent . Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  34. ↑ Watt, Holly (5 April 2018). "RNIB and subsidiary under investigation over abuse allegation". The Guardian . Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  35. 1 2 3 Butler, Patrick (25 June 2020). "Children at RNIB schools and homes put at risk, charity regulator finds". The Guardian . Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  36. ↑ Layton, Josh (26 June 2020). "Damning report lists 'serious failings' at RNIB children's centre in Coventry". Coventry Telegraph . Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  37. 1 2 Rosa Royle, Orianna (25 June 2020). "Serious mismanagement at RNIB exposed vulnerable people to risk, regulator finds". Third Sector . Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  38. 1 2 3 Weakley, Kirsty (25 June 2020). "RNIB's governance failures led to young people being harmed, inquiry finds". Civil Society. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  39. ↑ Powell, Selina (14 September 2018). "RNIB Pears Centre to close following safeguarding concerns". Optometry Today. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  40. ↑ Mullen, Edna (7 September 2018). "Children's home and school for blind children to close in wake of damning Ofsted report". Coventry Telegraph . Retrieved 26 May 2024.

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