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Population Needs Assessment

Sensory Impairments

Overview and key messages

Sensory loss is something that cuts across system wide services; it is important that sensory loss awareness and services are embedded in the whole system of provision.

Apart from the day-to-day difficulties, people with sensory loss have poorer health outcomes and lower educational achievements than people free from disability.

As sensory loss can be a significant life-limiting condition, the challenges associated with the condition are likely to grow over the coming decades.

People with sensory loss are more likely to feel lonely and isolated. found that 66% of deaf and hard of hearing people feel isolated due to their condition excluding them from everyday activities.

A 2012 report from WLGA on Sensory Loss in the Adult Population affirms that “People with sensory loss are likely to withdraw from or be unable to access social groups and activities within their communities, due to a range of factors such as lack of confidence, lack of information, lack of awareness of their needs, lack of support and lack of money.”

The reduction of the value of working-age benefits, persistent issues of poor-quality work and rising living costs, especially the cost of housing, energy and food, are key drivers of poverty in Wales. While improvements have been seen in pensioner poverty rates following an increase in the early 2000s, child and working-age poverty rates have remained consistently high for the last 20 years.  

We know also that poverty rates are consistently higher among disabled people and RNIB’s own research shows blind and partially sighted people have been hit harder by the recent rise in the cost of living than the general public. Blind and partially sighted people are more likely to live in lower-income households, and long-standing barriers mean that only one in four blind and partially sighted adults of working age is in employment.

A 2024 RNIB Cymru report Cost of Living in Wales reveals that blind and partially sighted people in Wales are disproportionately impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, with over one in five facing more than £200 in extra monthly costs.

Key findings in the report include:

  • Individuals are more likely to face higher expenses for specialised equipment, increased energy usage for lighting, and reliance on taxis, which have intensified during the cost-of-living crisis
  • Over 90% of blind and partially sighted people in Wales reported increased living costs, with many reporting greater difficulty in making ends meet compared to the general population
  • 56% of households cannot afford an unexpected £850 expense
  • The high cost of living has led to increased isolation, with many limiting social activities and going without essentials to manage their finances
  • With only one in four registered blind or partially sighted people of working age in employment, many rely on benefits, which have not kept pace with inflation
  • Both visual and hearing loss are projected to increase in West Wales over the coming years. Accelerating factors for sight loss include diabetes and obesity
  • Research suggests GPs fail to refer up to 45% of people reporting hearing loss to NHS hearing services (Davis et al, 2007)
  • Sensory loss is associated with increased risk of falls and fear of falling has a major impact on people’s ability to remain independent.

 

The combination of sensory loss can mean that a deafblind person will have difficulty, or find it impossible, to utilise and benefit fully from services for deaf people or services for blind people. Meeting the needs of deafblind people therefore needs a different approach.

Demographics and Trends
  • The latest west Wales update from Stats Wales in April 2026 estimates there are17,088 people in the West Wales region with a visual impairment, with the majority aged 60 and over. Projections show this will increase to 21,912 by 2043
  • The update from Stats Wales in August 2020 predicted there to be 92,439 people who are hard of hearing by 2026, with the majority aged 70 and over. Projections show this will increase to 107,780 by 2043
  • Data from Stats Wales reports a total of 243 people between the ages of 20 and 79 newly certified with sight impaired or severely sight impaired in 2024-2025 in West Wales, a slight decrease on the 249 people reported in 2023-2024
  • It is suggested that almost 40% of adults with a learning disability will have a hearing loss but the loss will not be diagnosed because audiology services are not accessible to them. Where it is identified, the support to maintain use of a hearing aid is often inadequate
  • People with learning disabilities are 10 times more likely to have serious sight problems than other people. People with severe or profound learning disabilities are most likely to have sight problems
  • The number of people waiting over two years for audiology treatment in West Wales (covering various services including potential follow-ups) dropped from 9,526 in April 2022 to 831 by February 2025, with only 0.2% of referral-to-treatment (RTT) pathways waiting longer than two years by June 2025.
Care and Support Needs

As people with sensory loss are more likely to feel lonely and isolated, sufficient support in the community is needed to address any issues of isolation and loneliness, along with improvements in identification and diagnosis, to ensure appropriate and timely support can be implemented.

It has been found that 40-50% of older adults with visual impairments limited their activities due to fear of falling. Evidence suggests that around 10% of falls can be attributed to sight loss. Injuries from falls have detrimental effects on individuals and require costly interventions. Appropriate support and adaptations to help prevent falls and increase confidence of visually impaired people could improve quality of life and avoid further social isolation and loneliness.

The accessible information standard states that patients, service users, carers and parents with a disability, impairment or sensory loss should:

  • Be able to contact, and be contacted by services in accessible ways, for example email or text message
  • Expect letters and information in formats they can read and understand, for example audio, braille, email or easy read
  • Be supported by a communication professional at appointments if this is needed to support conversation, for example a British Sign Language interpreter
  • Expect support from health and care staff and organisations to communicate, for example to lip-read.

Current care and support provision

The following support services are available in West Wales:

  • Eye Clinic Liaison Officers (ECLOs) are in hospitals and provide support to help link visually impaired patients to the correct services and help navigate the complexity of possible treatments and services
  • Specialist Rehabilitation Officers are located within social care and help to support people who have lost or are losing their sight. Rehabilitation officers can help patients experiencing visual impairment to maintain independence, regain lost skills or build confidence. They can assist with accessing appropriate equipment, lip reading classes and mobility training, which can help an individual to regain their confidence and maximise independence
  • Carmarthenshire County Council employs a Trainee Social Worker for Deaf People, who works within Integrated Services and provides an assessment and care management service to our citizens through the medium of British Sign Language.

The following third sector organisations also offer support:

  • Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) is a charity that operates across the UK and works to make life fully inclusive for deaf people and those who are hard of hearing or experience tinnitus. It undertakes research and campaigns on behalf of people who are hard of hearing, with more information available on its website including:

They provide RNID Near You Drop In sessions across Hywel Dda for 2 hours on a monthly basis currently, in Borth, Carmarthen, Lampeter, Llandeilo, Llandovery, Llandysul, Dinas Cross, Saundersfoot and Tregaron and in Kidwelly, Aberystwyth and Milford Haven shortly. This free service is open to all members of the public, without making an appointment, offering free batteries and tubes, help to change tubes, clean hearing aids, help with the BeMore App and any hearing aid problems. They offer a free basic hearing check and guide users who need further support on this. Also, they have a wealth of information on hearing loss, hearing aids and tinnitus.

Find out more here: Local support services – RNID

  • The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is a charity that operates across the UK and works on behalf of more than 111,000 people in Wales living with sight loss. Their Knowledge and Research Hub can be found here and their data tool here
  • Wales Council of the Blind (WCB) is an umbrella agency that represents vision impairment within Wales, and works to campaign, lobby and support the improvement of services for people with sight loss
  • Wales Council for Deaf People (WCDP) is an umbrella association of both voluntary and statutory organisations providing support for people who are deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or deafblind in Wales
  • Deafblind UK currently supports people with dual sensory impairment in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Post Covid-19 Pandemic

As outlined by the Wales Centre for Public Policy in their Policy Briefing  The impact of Coronavirus on poverty and social exclusion in Wales, the Coronavirus pandemic had three main impacts on poverty in Wales: it increased the number of people living in poverty; deepened poverty for those people already living in poverty; and worsened the consequences of being on a low income.

The long-term physical and mental health impacts of Coronavirus and the disruption of education because of the pandemic are also likely to be issues affecting the future of social exclusion in Wales.

Disabled people and their families, including those with sensory impairment, are at higher risk of poverty and social exclusion in Wales, which the pandemic and on-going cost of living crisis exacerbated for those already affected, resulting in many experiencing social exclusion for the first time.

The Gaps: What's missing (gaps and areas for improvement).

Key findings of the RNID 2025 report Still ignored: the fight for accessible healthcare highlights that with an aging population, around 900,000 people (roughly 1 in 3 in Wales) are deaf or hard of hearing

RNID Wales, in partnership with local communities, highlights that over two-thirds (67%) of deaf people and those who are hard of hearing have faced negative attitudes, leading to widespread exclusion, loneliness, and reduced confidence. Their research emphasizes that 47% of people who are hard of hearing feel excluded, and 51% face negative attitudes from retail staff

  • NHS Wales is failing to meet the needs of over 300,000 deaf people and people who are hard of hearing, with 38% leaving appointments without fully understanding information and 73% not being asked about their communication needs
  • More than a third of patients said staff failed to speak clearly, and many struggle to book appointments due to a lack of accessible options
  • RNID (formerly Action on Hearing Loss) asserts that failure to meet these communication needs is a breach of the Equality Act

The report calls for urgent action to address communication barriers, with only 57% of staff able to record patient needs, leaving many patients facing health inequalities and calls on the Welsh Government to strengthen and enforce the All Wales Standards for Information and Communication for People with Sensory Loss

The British Sign Language (Wales) Act 2026, passed by the Senedd on March 11, 2026, promotes and facilitates the use of BSL, establishing a legal framework to improve access to public services for Deaf signers in Wales. The legislation requires a national BSL strategy, a designated BSL adviser, and requires public bodies to create local BSL plans. When implemented, work will be undertaken to devise local plans for West Wales, in response to any guidance and national strategy that emerges.

To provide an assessment of the current sensory impairment services, and to determine adequacy of these services and identify areas which can be improved in West Wales, regular engagement activities are undertaken.

The following are some of the key issues identified:

  • Improving awareness and understanding around sensory impairment and the corresponding needs across primary, secondary and social care
  • Developing services to meet predicted demand; pathways for care, including ICCS should include assessments for and referrals to professionals with the appropriate knowledge, skills and qualifications are available to work with people (adults & children) with a sensory impairment to help them identify their needs, strengths and the outcomes they want to achieve
  • Improving identification and diagnosis
  • Improving community support to address loneliness and isolation
  • Improving accessibility and communication, so that patients are not turned away inappropriately or give up because of the difficulties of navigating the health and social care systems
  • Improving audit of the accessible implementation standard to ensure a person’s needs are fully recognised e.g. someone with complex needs also may have sensory impairment, which may be missed
  • Considering alternatives for those with sensory impairment to avoid having to use public transport to access services, which can be particularly challenging, especially in rural areas.
  • Considering how services are held to account by those whose lives are affected.