Certificate of Vision Impairment Wales-CVIW

Certification of Vision Impairment Wales (CVIW)

Certification is the pre-requisite to registration with a vision impairment. The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) 2014 Act requires local authorities to establish and maintain a register of people who are ordinarily resident in the local authority's area and who are sight-impaired, hearing-impaired or who suffer from sight and hearing impairments which, in combination, have a significant effect on their day to day lives.

Registration ensures access to services and support aimed at maintaining a person’s independence, inclusive of that offered by Habilitation officers and Rehabilitation Officers for the Visually Impaired.

The CVIW also has additional functions. It allows the collection of epidemiological information about the incidence and causes of certifiable sight loss in the UK. In Wales, the CVIW is used to indicate prevalence of certifiable vision impairment and is recognised by the Department of Work and Pensions as medical evidence of sight loss.

Practitioners accredited to provide Low Vision Assessment in Wales are now able to certify eligible people with sight loss, if the cause of sight loss is Dry Age Related Macula Degeneration.

Certificate of Vision Impairment Wales documents

• CVIW Clinical Manual
• CVIW Ocular examination claim form
• Local Authority links
• CVIW Patient information
• CVIW-How to claim for payment & Fees
• CVIW Interactive Form (PDF)
• CVIW Explanatory notes
• WHC-Welsh Health Circular
• CVIW questions from the profession  
• CVIW press release
• Letter to the profession