Southport based sight loss charity, Galloway’s Society for the Blind, is gearing up to celebrate 150 years of serving the community at its AGM and sight loss conference to be held at the Leyland Civic Centre on Thursday 23rd November from 9.00am until 4.30pm.

The day will begin with the formalities of the AGM followed by a celebration of the history, recollection of changing times and a look to the future. In the afternoon Mrs Jain & Mr Bhattacharyya, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeons at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will speak about the role of Ophthalmology followed by Dr Simon Clark of Manchester University who will talk about the Advances in treatments for Dry Age related Macular Degeneration.

Stuart Clayton, CEO of Galloway’s, commented: “In our 150th year, we want our AGM to be really special, which is why we’ve introduced a Sight Loss Conference. The day will reflect 150 years of serving the local community whilst looking to the future and working in partnership with other professionals for the benefit of people affected by sight loss across Lancashire and Sefton.”

“We are very grateful to Mrs Jain, Mr Bhattacharyya and Dr. Simon Clark for agreeing to present at our conference on topics including ‘Your Vision- our Service’ and research into the advances in treatments of one of the largest single cause of sight loss amongst older people - Dry Age related Macular Degeneration’

It’s estimated that there are over 39,000 people living with sight loss in Lancashire alone, Age Related Macular Degeneration being the leading cause. Due to an aging population, the number of people living with sight loss is set to rise by 10% by 2020.

Stuart concluded: “We know that sight loss is, and will continue to, affect people across our community in a big way. That’s why our conference, a first in recent times for Galloway’s, is aimed to attract anybody affected by sight loss, whether that be directly, professionally or people that have an interest in the history and future of Galloway’s.

"We understand that travel is one of the biggest issues facing blind and partially sighted people, which is why we will be offering transport to those living with sight loss from our site in Southport (22 Wright Street) – this must be booked in advance along attendance to the day by calling Galloway’s on 01772 744148.”