This is Haslemere recently had the pleasure of meeting Tricia and David who run the local Haslemere Macular Support Group. 

Macular disease is the biggest cause of visual impairment in the elderly in the UK. It can affect people of all ages, but most people diagnosed are over 55 years. Around 300 people per day are diagnosed with macular disease and nearly 1.5 million people in the UK are currently living with the condition. So what exactly is it?

The macula is a tiny area of the retina at the back of the eye. Roughly the size of a grain of rice, it is responsible for our central vision along with most fine detail of what we see and a lot of our colour vision too. If your macula becomes damaged (as it does in macular disease), your vision can become blurred or distorted. Then gradually, over time, the photo receptors in the macula die and you lose your central vision. Those living with advanced macular disease can struggle with everyday tasks and cannot drive or read. They may also have difficulty seeing faces, and recognising friends and family becomes very difficult. It can be an extremely isolating condition, stealing a person's independence and the ability to do the things you love.

Macular disease can affect people of any age, but most are in their later years. Very little is known about why, and there is still no cure, although there are treatments controlling the progression of the disease for some people. The Macular Society is the UK's leading charity and membership organization dedicated to supporting people affected by central vision loss. Founded in 1987, it aims to end macular disease by funding research for a cure, raising awareness and providing free support services - such as counselling, befriending, and local support groups.

The Haslemere Macular Support Group is one of nearly 300 support groups across the UK, and is run by volunteers. Each group works hard to ensure that they can reduce the feelings of isolation for those with macular disease along with their families and friends, as well as providing information, support and friendship. Tricia and David describe it as, 'a friendly group supporting people with age-related Macular Degeneration and other visual impairment.'

The group meets on the first Friday of each month from 2-4 pm at the Haslewey Centre in Haslemere. Although, due to the timings of Easter, their next meeting will actually be a week later than normal on Friday 10th April.

At each session, there is usually a speaker. This speaker will either be sharing information, help and advice about living with visual impairment, or will be talking about a topic which may have more general interest for the group. 

At the April session, they will have the pleasure of hearing from Mr Aman Kirmani, Consultant Retinal Eye Specialist at the Royal Surrey County Hospital. He will be speaking about macular degeneration and other eye diseases in older people, as well as answering questions from the audience. Anyone interested is welcome to attend, as well as friends, family, and carers. Just come along. The session is free, but the group kindly asks for a donation towards the refreshments.

There is a jam-packed calendar of events planned for the rest of the year. On 1 May, the group will have a session on first aid and basic life support, whilst on 5 June they will be visiting some local gardens. A couple of lunches are also in the pipeline and there will be a talk by Age UK on how to identity scams and another from local resident Rob Noble who used to be a buyer at Harrods. 

The group would love to hear from you if you are interested in helping out as a volunteer. There are lots of ways in which you can help. For example, they would really appreciate a volunteer to help serve tea and coffee and to make new members feel welcome. And they would love an extra pair of hands to help with arranging an occasional meeting or assisting with admin. Or perhaps you may be interested in being a speaker at one of their upcoming meetings. You can either choose to work directly with members within our community or you could also volunteer as a telephone befriender from the comfort of your own home. There are lots of opportunities and they would love to hear from you if you're interested in finding out more.

If you are interested in finding out more, you can also visit the Macular Society website. Or you can phone Volunteer and Group Support at the Macular Society on 01264 560 259. You can also make a donation here if you would like to support the work that they do. Or simply pop along to one of the monthly meetings at the Haslewey Centre.