Welcome to Friends of Bristol Eye Hospital

Treatment for all patients has been greatly enhanced by our supporters.

For every £1 raised, we spend 95p supporting the hospital, 2p running the charity and 3p on publicity or raising funds.

Become a Friend

Join us for just £5 a year or support us in other ways.

Make a donation

You can donate in many ways, including cash, cheques, BACS, debit or credit card.

Read our newsletters

Please have a look at recent editions of our In Sight newsletter.

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To contact us, we recommend that you telephone or email (details in Contact).  We all work from home and post sent via the hospital can be delayed.  If you need to post anything, please call or email and we will give you a home address. Thank you.

Christmas Cards on sale now in BEH

Designs available can be seen at the booking-in desk on the ground floor or via the button below.

Each pack costs £3 (regardless of any price shown on the pack). Packs contain ten cards of the same design plus envelopes.

Cards can be purchased from the booking-in desk or the main reception desk near the main entrance doors. Sales are open between 8am and 5pm.

You can pay by credit or debit card. You can also pay by cash but staff will not be able to give you any change (and we receive the excess as a donation).

5 November 2024
Christmas Card Designs 2024

Thomson test charts for the WGH ophthalmology service

The ophthalmology service at Weston General Hospital (WGH) includes paediatric ophthalmology clinics. Expanding the service in Weston means families don’t have to travel up to Bristol for their care and allows precious resources to be used at the BEH for Bristol-area patients.

The WGH service wanted to install additional digital vision testing charts in the Seashore (paediatric) outpatient department, which would ensure that all clinical rooms can be utilised for ophthalmology clinics. The Friends have purchased three Thomson charts, complete with mini PCs and 24″ clinical quality LCD monitors including infrared control and wall mounting brackets.

This grant cost £4,785.

2 October 2024

Successful wine-tasting evening

The Friends recently held a fund-raising wine-tasting evening, which those attending said was a ‘great success’. Held in the prestigious Clifton Club, the event was a complete sell-out, with over a thousand pounds raised for the charity.

Hosted by Clifton wine merchants DBM Wines, six different wines were tasted – three white, and three red – from countries including Lebanon, Georgia and Romania. DBM Wines director Richard Davis related the history of each of the wines being tasted, which added enormously to the evening’s enjoyment.

There was also a raffle of prizes that had been generously donated. This, together with the sale of the charity’s Christmas cards, all added up to the final sum of money that was raised.

24 September 2024

Staffroom kitchen area refurbishment

The Friends had last refurbished the Queen Anne Building’s staffroom kitchen in 2009, so it was not surprisingly showing signs of general wear. It had also suffered from two major water leaks and some of the kitchen cupboards had been damaged beyond repair.

The room is used by a much higher number of staff members than previously and was no longer fit for purpose. With the hospital trust currently only supporting urgent requests (and predominantly those relating to clinical areas), FBEH approved a request for new equipment, cabinets and wipe-clean worktops, a wipeable sofa and the removal and replacement of tiles with hygienic wall cladding.

26 September 2024

Improved staff facilities in the Galleries Diagnostic Assessment Centre

We have paid for the repair and decoration of facilities for staff in the Bristol Eye Hospital Diagnostic Assessment Centre which opened in the old Post Office in the Galleries Shopping Centre in 2023.

Staff working in the diagnostic service provide an excellent service which has been highly praised in feedback from patients.  The improved ‘back of house’ facilities provide a welcoming and comfortable area for staff to relax in during their breaks, enabling them to return to work suitably refreshed.

This grant cost £5,610.

26 January 2024

Thank you to all our many supporters

We strive to thank all our donors promptly – unless we are specifically asked not to thank them.

We receive many donations from people who choose to remain anonymous or who do not give us any means of contacting them to say thank you.  We regret being unable to thank such donors other than by expressing our grateful appreciation here.

There are also currently over 60 people who donate regularly – and some have done so for very many years.  Our longest regular donor made their first payment in June 1983!  The number of regular donors and the total they donate increases steadily every year.  We do not thank you regularly but please be assured that your donations are very warmly received and we are most grateful for your ongoing support.

27 September 2021, updated 17 January 2024

New murals on Level 3

The Friends recently funded the painting of murals on Level 3 of the Eye Hospital. These are intended to boost the morale of patients and their families, and offer a momentary distraction from their time in the hospital, which may be stressful or anxiety inducing.

According to the Paintings in Hospitals charity, “art can help us stay well, aid our recovery from illness and injury, and support us to live longer, more fulfilling lives.”

The murals were designed and painted by Lizzy Naden, who is both an ophthalmic technician at the hospital and a professional visual artist.

24 October 2024

From our archives

A young patient admires the inmates of the aquarium purchased by the Friends in 2011 in the then-new children’s unit in the Outpatient Department on Level 1.  The aquarium has been maintained by the Friends ever since and remains very popular with children.