Blind and partially sighted patients claim their safety and confidentiality have been compromised by GPs who refused to send correspondence in large print or Braille.

According to the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) and the Surrey Association for Visual Impairment (Savi) the patients believe they are being treated unfairly by the NHS when compared to other patients.

Jean Meyer, from Banstead, is registered blind and cannot read standard print. She claimed despite her repeated requests to the NHS for information she can read, in large print, size 24, or by email, she has never received written acknowledgement or information in a suitable format.

She has no choice but to rely on her children and other people to read to her correspondence from the GP surgery, eye clinic and mammogram clinic Mrs Meyer said: "Other service providers, for example BT and the water company supply me with large print bills and statements. I'm disappointed and cross to have never received information that I can read from the NHS."

She added: "It's not fair on me or other people when I have to ask them to read my confidential information."

At a recent mammogram clinic test, Mrs Meyer, who works as a deaf/blind communicator guide, requested her results in size 24 print.

She said: "At that time I was told I was the only person who had ever requested large print and not to hold my breath. I'm certainly not the only blind or partially sighted person in Surrey who needs it.

"The results came in what I believe was 16 point print accompanied with a leaflet in a similar size. Both were still too small for me to read.”

RNIB research shows 95 per cent of blind and partially sighted people rarely receive confidential information from NHS staff in large print, email, Braille or audio. Ninety nine per cent said they didn't want information read to them by other people.

Now Savi has joined forces with RNIB to host a seminar on September 17 at Bourne Hall, in Ewell Village, bringing together blind and partially sighted people, NHS representatives, local politicians and other stakeholders to discuss problems and possible solutions.

Lynsey Brooks, RNIB's Campaign Officer for Surrey said: "The NHS quite rightly deals with the needs of patients who speak other languages, but sadly the same cannot be said of people whose sight problems do not allow them to read standard print. Health service providers are under an obligation to provide patients with equal access to health information. The majority of them are failing to meet that obligation."

Health service providers failing to provide accessible information are likely to be in breach of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995. The Equalities Act which comes into effect in October this year is set to strengthen current disability law.

A spokesman for NHS Surrey said: “We recognise the concerns about accessible information and the importance of providing information for all patients that is easy for them to read and understand.

“The Coalition for Disabled People is part of our Disability Equality Steering Group which has been leading the work to better understand specific issues and to start to take steps to resolve them.”