New volunteers sought to help run Caithness Macular Support Group
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New volunteers are being sought to help run a Caithness support group that acts as "an absolute lifeline" for people with macular disease – the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK.
The Caithness Macular Support Group needs key office-bearer roles to be filled so that it can continue to provide advice, information and social interaction for its members across the county.
Anyone willing to help the organisation will be made welcome at a meeting being held this Friday (November 19) at 12.30pm in Wick's Pulteney Centre. The group's chairman, Eric Farquhar, is standing down for health reasons, while there are also vacancies for the roles of vice-chair and treasurer.
Nearly 1.5 million people in the UK are affected by macular conditions and many more are said to be at risk. Every day, around 300 people are diagnosed with macular disease.
There are hundreds of support groups offering information, encouragement and friendship to people affected by macular conditions and other forms of sight loss.
Laura Gray, senior regional manager for Scotland at the Macular Society, will attend the meeting in Wick.
“We're looking for a small group of people who could work together, if they could give us a few hours a month to do all the little jobs that need to be done," she explained.
“These groups are essential, they are an absolute lifeline for people, and Eric has done such a brilliant job of building it up and keeping it going. We just want the group still to be there for people.
“People quite often say they don't know anybody else who has got macular degeneration, they'd never heard of it until they were diagnosed. But actually meeting other people who have got the condition, realising you're not on your own, realising that there is help and support available, can be really beneficial to people.
"It is becoming more and more common now because people are living longer and living with conditions."
Mrs Gray added: “We've got about 400 groups across the UK, we've got just short of 50 in Scotland, and we're keen to develop more groups in more areas in the future but also to consolidate what we've got after this really difficult 20 months or so.”
During the Covid-19 lockdown, Caithness Macular Support Group held a popular series of virtual ceilidhs featuring members and artistes from as far afield as Shetland and Skye. They joined in a monthly conference call hosted by Mr Farquhar from his home in Wick.
Although he will no longer be chairman, Mr Farquhar still intends to play a part.
He said: "I still hope to be involved with the group. They're a really good bunch."
Mrs Gray, who is based in Aberdeenshire, added: "We very much want the Caithness group to continue. As well as looking for volunteers to help, we would be keen to let local communities know about the group so that everyone can benefit from the support and help that is available.
"The disease can have a devastating effect on people’s lives, leaving them unable to drive, read or see faces. There is still no cure and some types of the disease are not treatable.
"Our groups are for anybody affected by sight loss and we want to encourage people to come along. Friends and family are also very welcome.
"It’s good to be able to learn from each other’s experiences and get tips. The peer support can be so helpful.
"Our groups can really help people increase in confidence and become more independent."
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common form of macular disease, affecting more than 600,000 people, usually over the age of 50.
