Eye Clinic Liaison Officer
Who? Where? And Why?
Some eye clinics may have an Eye Clinic Liaison Officer (ECLO) or equivalent.
An ECLO may also be called a Community Link Worker, Family Support Officer or a Social Support Worker.
They will be based within the Eye Clinic either full time or part time with a referral process in place for the times that they are not available. The health professionals in the clinic will be able to advise you on how to contact the ECLO service if the hospital has one, or the NHS Patient Advice and Liaison Services ( PALS) will be able to advise if you do not have an appointment at the eye clinic.
Services will vary from clinic to clinic depending on who provides the service.
ECLOs may be employed directly by the hospital where they are based, funded by the local social services, provided through the local visually impaired society, through the PALS service, or through a national charity such as Action for Blind People.
These workers may be employed full time, part time or as volunteers. There may be just one person or a team of people.
Because of these variations what is provided will also vary.
In the majority of cases an ECLO is a signposting role. They will be able to tell you who your local teams are, such as whom to contact within social services and the social services visual impairment team. They will explain the registration process if you are eligible to be registered as Severely Sight Impaired or as Sight Impaired, and which are your local visual impairment societies. They will tell you what benefits you may be entitled to and how to apply, and also if there are any specialist national groups or services that may be of interest to you.
They will also act as a ‘bridge’ between the health services and social services, ensuring that you receive a seamless service from diagnosis and then to the help and support you need.
Many ECLOs will be available to you after your initial appointment at the eye clinic, meaning that you have a contact at the hospital if you have questions or concerns.
If you attend a large eye clinic you may also find that the hospital has a social worker, benefits adviser, housing officer and counselling services. Your ECLO will have good links with these internal services and be able to refer you to them.
An ECLO may be able to sit in on your appointment if you wish and be able to speak to you afterwards about what the consultant has said. They will be able to tell you if there are specific groups or organisations for people who have the same eye condition diagnosis, or refer you to accurate websites where you can read about it.
In some cases there will be a specialist ECLO such as an one within a paediatric clinic. These will be able to advise the young patient or their families about education, development and support.
Other ECLOs will be able to advise on life skills, employment, coping strategies, equipment, holidays and recreation.
No matter who the ECLO is, what experience they have or where they are based, they will be able to ensure you get the answers to your questions, and if they do not personally know it they will be able to find out who does.
The ECLO is there for you, the patient, so on your next appointment ask if your clinic has one.
