Simon St Leger-Harris, our retiring Treasurer, held house parties for friends and family to celebrate his 70th birthday. In lieu of presents, he requested donations in favour of the Friends and raised £1,736.

Simon joined the Friends after he had retinal detachments in both eyes at the same time and underwent a series of operations over three years, initially to repair the retinas and later to correct cataracts, a squint and double vision, all normal side effects of the treatment.

“It was difficult for me to find the words to adequately thank all the many staff who saved my sight,” Simon said. “At the end of it all, with artificial lenses, my sight was actually better than ever before – and, 16 years later, still is.”

2 April 2025

James was a trustee for six years, giving expert support as chairman of our governance sub-committee. Unfortunately his workload for the Charity Commission limited his ability to contribute fully and attend meetings so he felt he must retire. However, he has kindly offered to give advice whenever we need it in future.

Shown in the photo, Ben is the service lead in optometry for Medical Retina Services at BEH. He became a trustee in 2021; his knowledge and guidance were invaluable to the non-medical trustees among us, explaining the function of medical equipment for which grant applications had been submitted and why help with funding was needed.

1 April 2025

We have contributed towards the cost of refurbishing the doctors’ mess and library in the hospital. This area is used for administrative work, clinical audit and as a space for taking breaks and resting while on call.

The NHS funded some of the work including the purchase of new comfortable seating and storage lockers. We paid to install and plumb a new sink, water boiler and refrigerator which the NHS could not prioritise ahead of other demands for expenditure on clinical equipment or projects with health and safety risks.

The new space directly benefits the BEH’s 30 specialist registrar, clinical fellow and specialty doctors.

This grant cost £5,838.

12 March 2025

We have replaced an ophthalmic chair which had broken beyond repair. This vital equipment is needed to ensure that patients are in the correct position for vitreoretinal injections.

It was requested urgently and we responded immediately. It was being used for patients on the day it was delivered to the hospital and is in constant use to provide vision-saving treatments for 30 patients per day, 6 days per week.

This grant cost £5,576.

11 March 2025

We have received generous donations over the last year from:
TK Maxx and Homesense Foundation, which allows employees to nominate a charity they feel passionate about.
Rotary Club of Wrington Vale, with thanks to Ivor Metherell for nominating us and adding a personal donation.
Rotary Club of Yatton Trust Fund
Hoddell Charitable Trust
Star Legal Solicitors

– and the following, who all wrote appreciative comments about the care and treatment they had received in the hospital: Susan Adams, Yvonne Bell, Esther Campbell, Andrew Denn, Alison Finch, John Godfrey, William Henderson, Rachel Hutchinson, Andrew Kerley, Laura Lafave, Anne Russell, Jonathan Seagrave and Patricia Thompson.

You can read some of their comments here.

27 February 2025, updated 7 March

To enable BEH to take part in a 1-year pilot scheme conducted by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, the Friends have funded the fixed-term salary of a physician associate.

Physician associates are healthcare professionals who work alongside doctors. The Royal College of Ophthalmologists’ aim was to develop a programme for training physician associates in Hospital Eye Services, in order to meet the increasing demand for ophthalmology services.

After training, the physician associate at BEH was able to undertake tasks which improved efficiency and reduced waiting times. This pilot helped to assess how a PA could support a multi-disciplinary team working in ophthalmology services, thus contributing to the delivery of ophthalmic care.

It gave BEH the welcome benefit of an extra pair of hands for twelve months, especially helping to manage the flow of patients through the eye examination hub, with patients’ eye examinations being recorded by non-medical staff so that the data can be assessed by doctors remotely.

15 January 2025

The clinical team at Bristol Eye Hospital asked whether the Friends might fund a video that would better inform patients of what to expect when they’re referred for cataract surgery. This would improve the quality of consultations – and potentially reduce the time staff spend explaining the processes in clinic. It would also “showcase the hospital’s brilliant cataract service”.

We were happy to help. The video has now been produced by the NHS Medical Illustrations Team and is narrated by BEH consultant ophthalmologist Omar Elhaddad. You can view it here.

This grant cost £3,000.

2 January 2025

Bristol Eye Hospital currently uses iCare tonometers to measure patients’ intraocular pressures. The check is required because an elevated pressure could be a symptom of certain eye conditions, notably glaucoma. The Friends have frequently purchased tonometers for the hospital.

There is now an alternative device that provides clinicians with more insightful information and which may be less expensive in the long term: the Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA).

Following positive initial trials, the hospital asked the Friends to purchase two ORAs to further test the concept. If these tests confirm the anticipated advantages, we may well be asked to provide more.

This grant cost £27,000.

20 December 2024

One of our longest-standing trustees, Heather Walker, has retired after 45 years’ dedicated service. She became a trustee only two years after the Friends started.

Heather was Membership Secretary in the early years and continued to help with secretarial work whenever needed but her major contribution throughout her 45 years has been her key role in organising the many events held to raise much-needed funds for the hospital.

Former secretary and chair Dinah Harrison paid tribute to Heather for the enormous amount of work she has carried out over such a long time, saying “Whether it was a garden party, jazz supper, antiques road show, race night or boat trip, Heather was at the centre of it. Her wide social connections, planning, communication, persuasive charm and hard work on the day made our events so successful.”

We wish Heather all the best in her well-deserved retirement.

13 December 2024

Kat Jedrysiak raised £249 by organising a 10k run along the River Avon on Sunday 13 October. Five hospital staff (Vanessa, Lauren and Kat from Theatre Department, Carmen from an office and Debbie from an outpatient department) took part.

Kat was very happy with how the event went and said she was “proud of all of us.”

“There is such a nice feeling after raising money for a good cause. Furthermore we had an amazing time, getting to know each other better as we are from different departments and finishing with a coffee at the Ashton Court café.”

She hopes to run more events in future in support of Friends of Bristol Eye Hospital.

13 December 2024, updated 7 March 2025

Children with special needs are 28 times more likely to have serious eyesight problems than other children.

Regular eye checks are vital, but it’s proven much better if hospital staff can visit these children in the familiar environment of their own schools. We have funded a film to explain to parents and teachers how the tests are done. You can see the video.

The tests include games and toys to distract and relax children, enabling staff to complete the examinations and prescribe appropriate glasses so children can see better, which helps their development, education and behaviour.

Some children may still need to visit the hospital for more complex tests. A special area is set aside for children, with colourful pictures on the walls and an aquarium, which we purchased in 2011 and have maintained ever since.

2 December 2024

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