We received this message from Stephen Rhodes yesterday:

“My wife had cause to visit you for the second time in an emergency having sustained her second detached retina in 18 months.  Thanks to your excellent service and fantastic prompt response, she has made a full recovery and feels that her eyesight has gone back to how it was before the retina detached.  Not only have you repaired two detached retinas for her, you have dealt with the cataracts in each eye as well.  People are only too quick to complain about some of the care they receive through the NHS but without your prompt action and the skilled doctors and nurses who looked after her, she would be blind.  I cannot thank you enough for everything you have done.”

Thank you Stephen; we have forwarded your very kind message to the hospital manager who has shared it with the staff concerned.

The picture is one of the brickwork mural panels at the hospital, recently deep cleaned with assistance from the Friends.

17 November 2023

BEH organised a training event in complicated and complex cataract surgery for 16 ophthalmology trainees on 29 September.

The Friends paid for surgical consumables used during the simulation training day.  Gemma Manasseh said “the trainees are now more confident in managing complex and complicated cataract surgery.  We are very grateful for your contribution to this training day.  Without it the day could not have gone ahead.”

This grant cost £2,072.

26 October 2023

Carole Brooke was elected as our fourth Secretary in September 2023.

Having been treated at the Bristol Eye Hospital for the past two years (and still ongoing), Carole became a trustee in May 2023.

“Becoming a Trustee seemed fitting to give a little back to the staff who use their skills and expertise to benefit so many people.  It wasn’t a difficult decision and taking on the role of Secretary will also support the Friends in their excellent work.”

At other times, Carole can be found hacking at a golf ball at Long Ashton Golf Club, playing with her three grandchildren or helping to run a community health service called The Nailsea Leg Club!  She likes to keep busy!

Before retiring, Carole was a GP Practice Manager, firstly in Shirehampton and then in her home town of Nailsea.

25 October 2023

Kay McCluskey was elected as the Friends’ ninth Chairman in May 2023.  As a grateful patient of the Eye Hospital, Kay became a trustee of the Friends in January 2016.  She chairs our Events sub-committee and is also on our Finance and Governance sub-committees.
Kay is a Personal Injuries Consultant with Enable Law – one of the UK’s leading specialist medical negligence, personal injury and mental capacity law firms.  Working for over 40 years in the field of personal injury claims, she is proud to have been recognised by Chambers as being in the top tier of personal injury lawyers in Bristol and the South West.

She is also a member of the Board of Headway Bristol and a member and former President of the Bristol Medico-Legal Society.

24 October 2023

We have bought kitchen equipment – a refrigerator, a toaster and a sandwich maker – for BEH staff in Weston General.

Following the merger of the Bristol and Weston sites, the team at Weston is a core part of the BEH ophthalmology service and the Friends are delighted to purchase these items to improve the quality of the staff rest/break area.

The staff sent a lovely card thanking us.

This grant cost £289.

24 October 2023

We have bought a Topcon OCT-1 Maestro 2 for the BEH Emergency Department.

The number of patients seen in BEH ED increases year on year.  Without an Optical Coherence Tonometer (OCT) within the Department, patients at the weekend had to return for basic OCT imaging during the week causing delays and extra workload for staff in Outpatients and the Imaging Departments – which were already fully booked.  Moreover, patients had to be escorted to Level 2 or Outpatients Ground floor, adding considerable time for patients and wasting staff time escorting people.

Each OCT imaging session should now take about ten minutes, rather than an hour or more – a huge benefit for staff and patients.

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists recommend that all Eye Emergency Departments should have access to an OCT device for patient care.

This grant cost £32,000 (plus a further £6,300 expected for maintenance contracts over the next five years).

23 October 2023

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).

20 October 2023

Our promotional leaflet “PLEASE LOOK INSIDE” is on display in the hospital.  The leaflet briefly describes what we do, with some examples of grants we’ve made.  It also encourages people to join us, setting out different ways of donating and how to request information.

The leaflet also contains a loose stand-alone form to join or donate to the Friends.

9 November 2022, updated 20 October 2023

16 March 2022, updated 13 October 2023

DONATE BY BANK TRANSFER.  We incur no charges for donations made by Open Banking transfer using Wonderful Payments, or by BACS.

DONATE BY CARD.  Operated by Donorbox.

DONATE BY OTHER METHODS, eg Cheque, Cash or Text.

You can Gift Aid your donation or, if you wish to become a member of the Friends, request correspondence from us or let us know of any particular reason why you are donating, perhaps in thanks for treatment or in memory of someone, you can do all these:

• online if donating by card or
• by completing a donation form, which you can download or pick up in the hospital.

16 July 2021, updated 8 September 2022