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IN TOUCH 鈥� The Delivery of Medical News; Audio Described World Cup Commentary; Enhanced Smart Meters

TX:听 06.12.2022听 2040-2100

PRESENTER:听 听听听听听听听听 PETER WHITE

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PRODUCER:听 听听听听听听听听听 BETH HEMMINGS

White

Good evening.听 Tonight, the football lovers of England are still suffused with a warm glow.听 Blind listeners, in particular, will probably have listened to the radio commentary but you could have heard it like this:

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Clip

He鈥檚 rolling in to Foden down the left-hand side, it鈥檚 a square ball right here for Harry Kane, shoots, blasts into the bottom left-hand corner and once again the classic England counterattack is mesmeric.

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White

Well, you could have heard that as long as you have a smartphone 鈥� not quite John Murray but what is the advantage of an audio described commentary?听 We鈥檒l be trying to find out later on.

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Smart meter speech

Speech has been turned on.听 Total electricity used to day 拢1.25.

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White

That鈥檚 a new way for visually impaired people to keep track of how much their energy is costing.

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But first, unfortunately, some things just never seem to change when it comes to being dealt potentially life altering medical news.听 Many of you got in touch with us in response to our discussion, a few weeks back, about how and if you can prepare for blindness.听 Just a few days prior to that recording, Pauline Mottram had been given the prognosis that she would inevitably lose her sight in, what she felt, was an extremely tactless way.听

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Well, in a moment, we鈥檒l be hearing the hospital鈥檚 response to that and indeed another twist in Pauline鈥檚 story.

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But first, to a woman who, 30 years prior to Pauline, received the news that she would lose her sight in a similarly indelicate and abrupt way.听 And, believe it or not, in the same part of the world.听

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Rowena Thomas-Breese joins us.

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Rowena, first of all, tell us what was happening with your sight back then.

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Thomas-Breese

I was diabetic, which obviously causes trouble, and I started having treatment for retinopathy.听 And they were lasering my eyes, I was going back, I think, once a month and it was laser, laser, laser and I said to my mother one day 鈥� I said, you know, my sight isn鈥檛 getting any better.听 Drove to the hospital and like you say, very indelicate, just said 鈥� I鈥檒l give you 12 months and you鈥檒l be blind.听 And that was it, end of conversation, more or less dismissed 鈥� out you go, deal with it.

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And it was just the way it was said, you know, there wasn鈥檛 any discussion about nobody to talk to me after, to say 鈥� well, will you be alright, you know, we鈥檝e got these facilities here, do you want us to put in touch with you here 鈥� absolutely nothing.

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White

How is your sight now?

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Thomas-Breese

Oh, I haven鈥檛 got any, completely blind, went very, very quickly.听 But, you know, you get on with it, don鈥檛 you, you have to, you鈥檝e got no choice.

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White

Pauline, let鈥檚 bring you in.听 You told us about Rowena鈥檚 story, so, where and how did you two meet?

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Mottram

Well, it was following the discussion that we had on the In Touch and particularly Amit and Marcia saying how meeting people who鈥檝e experienced loss of vision really helped them.听 And I managed to find out about a local vision loss support group and went along and there was this wonderful guide dog sitting under the table, a wheaten labby and next to it was Rowena.听 She was so helpful and inspiring to me, seeing her with her iPhone and managing calls and going swimming and everything that she does.听 And it was thanks to the programme and Rowena that I started to feel less afraid.

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White

But as I mentioned, at the beginning, there鈥檚 been another twist to your situation.听 Just explain what鈥檚 happened to you only this last weekend.

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Mottram

Yeah, very, very bizarre and I鈥檓 still reeling from it.听 I went for a second opinion, a private second opinion and the consultant that I saw was a top retinal specialist and he did a very, very thorough examination of my eyes, an OCT scan as well and he looked at me and he laughed and he said 鈥� You鈥檙e not losing your sight.听 I am an extremely high myop but he said there鈥檚 normal age related degeneration, which is to be expected but he said I could very well retain my sight until I die.

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White

That must be very difficult to deal with though because although it must be a relief to you, you鈥檝e been given two completely conflicting pieces of information from two, supposedly, well qualified doctors.听 I mean it must shake your confidence in what you鈥檙e told.

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Mottram

Very much so.听 I did feel very confident in the private doctor I saw, his whole approach towards me was highly professional, the trouble he took to explain what he was seeing and why he thought he was seeing what it was, was explained very thoroughly and just in common English as well.听 And he said he thinks I鈥檇 been blinded by a bit of ophthalmic science as well at the first consultation I went to.

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White

Well, as far as your original diagnosis goes, we did invite the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board on to the programme.听 They run the Abergele Hospital where you were seen.听 We wanted to get some answers about the way you were treated.听 They said no one was available to come on the programme but Nick Lyons is their Acting Deputy Chief Executive.听 He told us, in a statement, he said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e very sorry to hear Ms Mottram is unhappy with the care she鈥檚 received.听 We鈥檙e currently in the process of appointing an eye care liaison officer鈥︹�� they鈥檙e known as ECLOs in fact, 鈥溾��who鈥︹�� he went on to say, 鈥溾��in future will be able to support patients going through this journey.鈥澨� And he said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking into this issue and we invite Ms Mottram to contact us directly through our Patient Advice and Liaison Service, so that we can investigate it further and provide her with more support.鈥澨�

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Pauline, will you be taking up that offer?

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Mottram

I feel I want to on behalf of other patients who may be following me, to save them being treated the way that I was.听 From my own experience, I honestly don鈥檛 hold out much hope, I think a lot of it is saying the right things to the 鲍鱼tv.听 And I鈥檓 sorry if that sounds cynical but that鈥檚 my opinion.

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White

Pauline Mottram, Rowena Thomas- Breese, thank you both very much indeed.

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We鈥檙e going to stick with this subject.听 Do tell us your experiences of receiving news about your vision.听

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狈辞飞鈥�

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Clip 鈥� Alan Marsh Sports

The England team in white socks, white shorts and blue anthem jackets 鈥� that鈥檚 what they鈥檙e called 鈥� and Senegal look to be in all green at the moment 鈥� green socks, green shorts and then green sleeved anthem jackets with like a dark grey across the front.听 So, dangerous position for a free kick, 15 yards left of centre.听 A line of green shirts on the 18-yard box down to my right in front of the south stand.听 Left arm raised by Jordan Henderson, who鈥檚 over it.听 He plays a square ball to the right of the midfield and then a ball down the left-hand side of the area.听 It鈥檚 taken down nicely on the chest and volleyed across towards the back post.听 There鈥檚 a melee of players and then hacked into the midfield.

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White

Steve Corrie there providing audio described World Cup commentary for England鈥檚 victory over Senegal on Sunday evening.听 It was provided by a company called Alan March Sport, they specialise in presentation for large-scale events and the company director is 鈥� well it would be wouldn鈥檛 it 鈥� Alan March and he joins us from where else but Qatar.

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Alan, just describe how this commentary works and how people can use it.

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March

What we鈥檝e tried to do at Alan Marsh Sport is to develop it into something as entertaining as the modern game of football is.听 So, it鈥檚 fairly quick, it鈥檚 quite wordy.听 What we don鈥檛 want people to do is miss any of the action but we also want them to feel like they鈥檙e listening to a bog-standard TV or radio station commentary at the same time.听 We鈥檙e trying to paint a picture constantly and that鈥檚 a hard thing to do because, obviously, a ball is moving.听

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At this World Cup it鈥檚 being done by an app.听 You simply get a three digit code, which is ADC, and then you match that code on the FIFA interpreting app with the stadium that you鈥檙e currently wanting to listen to.听 So, for instance, ATS would be Al Thumama stadium.听 You simply type in the six digits altogether and away you go, you can listen to any of the commentaries.听 Yes, it鈥檚 designed for those going to the stadium but what FIFA have recognised is that vision impaired people who want to watch football or want to take football in, with a far more descriptive commentary, should be able to access it all over the world.听 And people are, from my understanding.

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White

But you do need an access code to enter into the app to get the audio described stream.听 Will that cost you anything?

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March

No, no, like I say, if you buy a ticket to the game basically that information is then sent to you by FIFA but I think if you look out for social media from 鈥� certainly from Alan March Sport, from CAFE, the centre of Access Football in Europe, a lot of those codes are sort of available online as well.

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White

But if you鈥檙e a visually impaired person, like I am, you do have to be comfortable using a smartphone, which I鈥檓 not.

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March

Yes.听 Domestically we look after 11 football clubs in the football pyramid from Newcastle and Leicester in the Premier League, all the way down to Wrexham in the National League and we use a different set of equipment for our own domestic clubs, it鈥檚 basically a wireless receiver.听 We find that easier.听 In larger events where they鈥檙e expecting larger numbers, then they鈥檝e obviously come up with a way of doing it digitally.

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White

Are you trying to offer anything different to professional commentators?听 I mean I work for the 鲍鱼tv and I think we鈥檝e got some pretty good commentators 鈥� the likes of John Murray and Ian Dennis 鈥� so are you competing or is this just that you can be used when you鈥檙e actually in the stadium?

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March

Domestically, the idea is that as a blind spectator you can go to the ground but it鈥檚 not just about having access to it as a tool, it鈥檚 about what it offers as well.听 I would never sit in front of a room full of people and say that what we offer is better than the 鲍鱼tv.听 What we offer is different.听 What we offer is a little bit more detail.听 So, if you鈥檙e missing something in 50 seconds, is that fair because you鈥檙e vision impaired?听 So, the idea is that we鈥檙e filling in those blanks.听

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There was a lady who listened to our commentary of the Champions League final this year in Paris and she was saying that the way that we audio described the fireworks display pre-game, she actually wrote to us and said 鈥� you brought that part to life, I envisaged all the bangs and whistles that were going on and the heat 鈥� because of the height she was sat in the stadium made her feel like she was a child again.听 But that鈥檚 the feedback that we want and that鈥檚 what we get because then that tells us we鈥檙e saying the right things, we鈥檙e saying the right words to help somebody fill in those blanks.

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White

Alan March, thank you very much indeed.

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So, Alan, understandably bullish about his own product but what do the users think?听 Well, I鈥檓 delighted to say that we鈥檙e joined by Pardeep Gill, just back from the England match in Qatar.听 So, Pardeep, you used the audio described stadium commentary, I think, what did you make of it?

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Gill

I鈥檓 a great football fan, I鈥檝e supported Leicester for many years and I鈥檝e benefited from the live audio description at premier league stadiums and it has been rather patchy.听 Since my vision has worsened, I鈥檓 now reliant on audio description and when I got to Qatar last week I heard about the live audio description, so I downloaded the FIFA interpreting app and it was so simple and seamless.听 The inclusive audio description enhanced my match day experience.听 All I had to do was listen to the commentary and then sing along to Sweet Caroline after the game.

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White

Which, of course, was quite easy to do as they won three-nil.听 I鈥檓 assuming that you listen to radio commentary if you鈥檙e listening in the UK, how does it compare?

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Gill

It鈥檚 on a higher level, I think.听 When I go to a football match I鈥檓 relying on the ambience, on the atmosphere of the on-pitch action, I鈥檓 not really interested in the tactics and so on.听 The radio commentary focuses on the tactics and so on but I鈥檓 more interested in the on-pitch action and that was really what the commentators in Qatar excelled on.

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White

Right.听 And I believe you鈥檙e going back for the England quarter final at the weekend?

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Gill

I am and I would just like to point out, Peter, that purely on an accessibility level, I鈥檝e been hugely impressed from arriving at Hamad International Airport to using the fully accessible Doha metro system and the accessibility features that are around the stadium and the Al Bidda fan zone.听 I鈥檝e been made to feel so welcome.听 On the audio descriptive side, one thing I would have liked is to have more separate audio description on the non-visual design and architecture of the amazing stadiums because as you, and other listeners, will appreciate they鈥檙e all great in design like the Al Bayt stadium is a tent like structure but I would have benefited from that separately but I will feed that back to the team.

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White

Well, Pardeep, thanks very much for joining us and let鈥檚 hope we get the right result in the quarter final.

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Now, as we鈥檝e recently reported, being blind or visually impaired can all too often result in unavoidable extra costs.听 A recent RNIB survey on the cost-of-living crisis found that more than a third of visually impaired people go without essentials such as food and heating and are struggling to make ends meet.听 Consequently, anything which can help reduce living costs is well worth looking into.听 So, when we heard about an accessible energy smart meter, we asked reporter Fern Lulham to look into it for us.

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So, Fern, first of all, tell us about this smart meter and how it might help.

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Lulham

Smart meters display your actual energy usage in close to real time.听 That鈥檚 all very well and good of course, if the display is accessible, which, until recently, they haven鈥檛 been.听 But now smart meters are available with an accessible in-home display or AIHD, which has made the smart meter even smarter in its aim to level the playing field for us blind people.听 So, here鈥檚 an idea of what one sounds like:

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Smart meter speech

Speech has been turned on.听 Total electricity used today 拢1.25.听 Total gas used today 87 pence.听 There is a new message from your energy supplier in your inbox.

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Lulham

Ooh I have to see what they want.听 Meanwhile, in my quest to find out more I spoke to Philippa Brown from Smart Energy GB, which is a government backed campaign.听 And I started by asking her what had inspired the production of AIHD.

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Brown

Some of the research findings were that nine in 10 blind and partially sighted adults currently find it difficult to reduce their energy bills but also 79% said that knowing how much energy they use each day would help them save money.

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Lulham

And you produced the meter in partnership with the RNIB, so what part did they and indeed the blind community, in general, play in that process?

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Brown

Their team know the needs of the community, there鈥檚 user led design and they鈥檝e been integral in developing those additional functions of the accessible IHD.

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Lulham

Can you describe the meter to me and, in particular, the features that make it so useful for blind people?

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Brown

It鈥檚 got text to speech functionality, navigation with adjustable volume, coloured LEDS which indicate levels of energy use, LED push buttons and large buttons for you to replay speech, it鈥檚 got a large typeface and it鈥檚 got the high contrast colour scheme.

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Lulham

And so, how do we get our hands on one of these meters and will it cost us anything to either buy it or even install it?

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Brown

They鈥檙e available at no extra cost.听 Everyone who is eligible should be able to get one from their energy supplier, regardless of whether they鈥檝e already had a smart meter or not.听 Do speak to your energy supplier about your specific circumstances.

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White

So, Fern, I mean it鈥檚 obviously good to know that we鈥檝e been involved in the development of products, it might be pretty stupid if we weren鈥檛 really, have you spoken to anyone about their first-hand experience of using this?

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Lulham

I spoke to Zak Shaw, who is a visually impaired Paralympian, to find out how user friendly he has found the AIHD so far.

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Shaw

Whenever I鈥檓 using new assistive technology, I find it a little bit nerve-wracking but, yeah, when I picked up this, literally within, I reckon, 20 seconds I was really familiar with where the buttons are.听 There鈥檚 a button on the top, it鈥檚 very tactile, you would press another button, it would let you know you had gone to a different page.听 I鈥檇 say I鈥檇 be comfortable teaching this to my mum, I think she鈥檇 pick it up pretty quickly as well.听 It鈥檚 weird that we鈥檙e in a situation where you鈥檝e been getting estimates or three-monthly estimates, quarterly estimates for your electric and it just makes a lot of sense to be able to know here and now because we are living in a world where everything is instant.听 In my opinion, it鈥檚 just the next step of technology to help benefit our lives.

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White

So, that was Zak Shaw, obviously a convert there.听 Fern, summing up from what you鈥檝e discovered?

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Lulham

I think the AIHDs fall into the category of tech that helps us feel more independent and that emotional confidence boost is always the acid test really for me.听 Part of that is the fact that smart meters remove the need to have an official, you know, knocking on your door, right in the middle of In Touch, to read your meter because they automatically transmit readings to the company.听 So, we can save our energy for more important things.

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White

I鈥檇 be surprised to get someone knocking on my door between twenty to nine and nine o鈥檆lock but never mind.听 Fern Lulham, thank you very much indeed.

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Now apologies for raising the issue of Christmas this early but we do want your help with an item that we鈥檙e planning for the season.听 We want to hear the experiences of visually impaired father or mother Christmases.听 Either playing the role for your children, dressing up etc., or perhaps in the wider community because it struck us there could be some good stories attached to this 鈥� charming, funny, embarrassing.听 Tell you what, I鈥檒l tell you mine if you鈥檒l tell me yours.听 You can share them with us, either by emailing in intouch@bbc.co.uk or you can leave messages on 0161 8361338 or go to our website bbc.co.uk/intouch.

From me, Peter White, producer Beth Hemmings and studio managers Sharon Hughes and Simon Highfield, goodbye.

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