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Episode details

Radio 4,20 Nov 2018,19 mins

A gap in support?

In Touch

Available for over a year

In 2012 Simon Rockman set up a simple-to-use mobile phone service aimed at the older visually impaired person. Fuss Free phones had one button, which put your call through to a call centre and they would either phone someone or text them for you. Now Fuss Free Phones has closed. Peter White asks Simon Rockman what went wrong and will any customers be left out of pocket? Reporter Tom Walker meets Juliette Parfitt who began losing her sight in her early twenties. Since then she says she has struggled to find age-appropriate information and services and feels it is an age-group whose problems are sometimes overlooked. One solution for Juliette might be a Facebook group called VI Talk. It has over two-and-a-half thousand members who share stories and tips and tricks on how to cope with life as a visually impaired person. Jo Fishwick from VI Talk tells us about it – and the seven other spin-off groups ranging from information on blind sports, to a book club. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Lee Kumutat

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