Coronavirus
(COVID-19)
For the
latest information about visiting all Bristol hospitals, please
see
https://www.uhbw.nhs.uk/p/which-hospital-do-you-need/coronavirus-covid-19
We express our profound
appreciation to NHS staff, all health and care workers
and others in the front-line, helping everyone in
these difficult times.
_______________________________________________________________________
During the current coronavirus
crisis, post sent to us care of the hospital is not being forwarded
(as staff have much more important priorities) and we cannot go
into BEH to collect it. Naturally we wish to minimise or
avoid any non-urgent contact or use of NHS time.
Where possible please contact us
at the moment by phone or email. If you need to post anything
to us, please call or email any of the contacts below and we will
give you a home address.
If you have posted anything to
us since 24 March, please bear with us as it may be sometime before
we receive it and can reply.
Many thanks.
24 April 2020
We recently purchased 28 packs
of tea, coffee, drinking chocolate and biscuits – one for each
department in the hospital - plus packets of biscuits for the
outreach clinic (which has no facilities to make hot drinks).
We plan to repeat this as needed during the crisis.
14 April 2020
We will not be
holding our AGM in May this year. We plan to hold the AGM
later in the year at a date to be agreed.
In Sight 2020
will also be published later than
usual.
30 March 2020
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Arts
Group provides Face Visors and Masks to Bristol Eye
Hospital
In April, Jo
Symmons organised her friends (and friends of friends) to make and
supply protective face visors and masks for local residential care
homes, charities, hospices and hospitals, including Bristol Eye
Hospital.
BEH were
delighted to receive 100 of these and informed us so we could add
our very grateful thanks to Jo. Friends of Bristol Eye
Hospital have since paid for the full cost of the materials used to
make the visors supplied to BEH.
In all, Jo and
her arty friends have made and donated about 3,000 visors and
delivered them to 50 Bristol Residential Care Homes; NHS Community
and Specialist Nursing Teams including Rapid Response Teams and
Hospital Discharge Teams; BRI Paediatric Intensive Care Unit &
Adult A&E, Cardiac & Respiratory ICU and Covid wards; Southmead
Hospital, Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre, South Bristol
Community Hospital, Bristol Eye Hospital, St Michael’s Hospital and
Frenchay Brain Injury Rehabilitation Centre; local charities such
as the Thomas More Project and We Are With You South West;
hospices; Community Support & Supported Living; and direct to
vulnerable individuals or their families in the
community.
Jo wrote “We
have worked incredibly well as a team to safely make and pack
visors, contact homes and hospitals and co-ordinate distribution.
This has been an amazing team.”
Jo is
still looking to raise donations to cover the cost of
materials. If you would like to donate, please visit
https://www.facebook.com/donate/260611751848925/.
This fund-raising site is not
related to Friends of Bristol Eye Hospital or the
hospital.
BEH do not
currently require further masks or other PPE. (We have asked
at regular intervals.)
Anonymous
donations - Thank you
We regularly
receive donations for which we are unable to thank the donors;
sometimes because they wish to remain anonymous and sometimes
although we know a donor's name we have no contact
details.
In addition to
occasional anonymous donations, we currently receive £45 (from
three people) directly into our bank account every
month.
We also often
receive donations, via Facebook, given in lieu of birthday presents
or to celebrate an anniversary.
As we are unable
to thank any of you directly, please accept our grateful thanks
here – and if you are one of those whose birthday prompted
donations please pass on our thanks to all your friends or family
who donated.
1 May
2020
Grants
made during the year to 29 February 2020
Purchase and maintenance
of HRT3 Rostock Cornea Module Confocal Microscope, used to
diagnose microbial keratitis and other devastating, painful and
sight-threatening conditions affecting the cornea.
Examination with this microscope enables much better diagnosis and
is much more comfortable for patients than the alternative
unpleasant invasive procedure of “scrapes”.
Purchase and maintenance
of Forus Neo Portable Wide-angled Retinal Camera for
diagnosing early eye problems in babies and young children to help
prevent them from losing their sight. The camera has a
specially designed wide-angled lens that gives a unique close up
view of blood vessels behind the eye. It’s portable so it
can be taken to babies who are too ill to be moved to BEH,
for instance at St Michael’s Hospital, the Paediatric Intensive
Care Unit of the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and even
patients’ homes. It provides high quality images more quickly
and more efficiently than the two previous cameras that were funded
by the Friends some years ago which have helped more than 1,000
babies. This grant was jointly funded by the Friends (paying
one-third) and Above & Beyond (paying two-thirds).
Keeler Classic Portable
Slit Lamp (and carry case), Indirect Ophthalmoscope and
Practitioner Ophthalmoscope plus an Icare Tonometer all
for the on-call BEH A&E team to take to examine patients in
other Bristol hospitals – a so-called ‘grab bag’. While other
Bristol A&E departments have access to slit lamps,
ophthalmology technology has evolved to support quicker and more
thorough review, diagnosis and treatment of eye conditions in less
invasive ways which is particularly important when dealing with
children or the elderly. Moreover, patients do not have to be
transferred to BEH.
Three iPads for
Immunosuppression Support Nurses who counsel and screen
patients (in all areas of BEH) prior to immunosuppression therapy
care, including patients with ocular inflammation in the uveitis,
corneal and adnexal services. By allowing nurses to access
each patient’s details (including, for example, ordering blood
tests and checking results, pharmaceutical records, appointments
and medical evidence regarding treatment regimens etc) from
anywhere in BEH, the iPads greatly enhance the quality of care
provided, improve efficiency and allow nurses to spend more time
with each patient.
Keeler Vantage Plus LED Indirect
Ophthalmoscope
Icare Pro (TA03)
Tonometer
Oslo Ophthalmic
Patients Chair with Armrests
Sponsorship of
Clinical Audit Seminars for BEH Staff
Counselling Training Course for
Immunosuppression Support Nurse
Electronic
patient call system
(including display screen,
ticket dispenser, tickets and installation)
TV for Patients
in Pre-op department
Lockers for staff
in A&E
Replacement
Refrigerator for Staff Kitchen
Christmas
Decorations in Patient Reception areas
24 April 2020
'Wonderful' online
donations
The Wonderful
online donation service was suspended on 31 March
2020 as a consequence of staff
shortages caused by the Covid-19 crisis. We have received all
donations made before that date.
Thank you to
everyone who donated or raised funds for us using Wonderful.
We are very grateful for the entirely free service provided by
Wonderful and their sponsors.
While we hope
that Wonderful may yet resume their
service, we have appointed Donorbox as a new means to collect
donations online. This is now live - you can donate using a
debit or credit card via our Donorbox account.
1 April 2020,
updated 5 May 2020
General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR)
GDPR requires us to
protect personal data, inform supporters what data is
held for them, how it is used, and how it can be
viewed, amended or deleted. We have written to all
Members, supporters and volunteers setting out how we comply with
GDPR. Our updated Privacy Policy can be viewed on our
In
Sight page.
If you have not heard from
us and wish to be contacted, or if you want to know what data
we hold for you or wish us to amend or delete any data, or if you
require any further information about our stance on GDPR, please
contact the Secretary.
17 May 2018, last updated 5 June
2019
