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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, 3p running the charity and 2p on publicity or raising funds.
Make a donation
You can donate in many ways, including cash, cheques, BACS, text, debit or credit card.
Read our newsletters
Please click the button below if you’d like to look at recent editions of our In Sight magazine.
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grants made
If you are currently planning to visit an NHS hospital in Bristol or Weston, please see:
We recommend that you contact us by telephone or email (details in Contact). We work from home and post sent to us at the hospital may not be forwarded promptly. If you need to post anything, please call or email us and we will give you a home address. Thank you.
New Lockers for Staff in Outpatients
We have bought ten 3-door lockers for the Outpatients department staff changing room on level 2. The previous lockers were very old and rusty. Many of the doors had bent out of shape and no longer closed and the locks were all broken. Staff had no adequate space to keep their belongings while at work; bags often had to be left on the floor.
With new lockers, the staff changing room is a much nicer – and tidier! – environment.
This grant cost £1,093.
10 August 2022
In Sight 2022
Our 2022 issue of In Sight has been printed and will shortly be distributed to all members and supporters who have requested copies (either by post or email). It will also soon be available from display racks in the hospital (which also contain a leaflet describing how you can help the Friends or donate).
You can view or download copies now at In Sight.
26 July 2022, updated 1 August
Friends' New Telephone Number
We have a new telephone number: 0300 102 4556.
Calls to this number are free from UK landlines and mobiles.
1 August 2022
Dr Paul Spry Memorial
We contributed £595 towards the cost of a memorial service for Dr Paul Spry held in the hospital’s Robert Dickson garden for staff on 6 July 2022.
Paul Spry, who was Head of Optometry (& guitarist in BEH’s resident band), died suddenly and prematurely in August 2021. This was tragic news to all his colleagues who felt he was irreplaceable. He had set up the electrodiagnostic department; had a distinguished academic career; was a fantastic colleague to work with, combining very high standards with fun; always ready to go the extra mile to help diagnosis and to benefit patients.
The BEH leadership team waited for a suitable moment when distancing restrictions had been lifted to allow a group meeting to reflect on Paul’s career and his exceptional contributions to the hospital, its staff and its patients.
31 July 2022
Orthoptic Examination Chairs for Children and Adults
We have bought nine examination chairs for the Orthoptic Department
These chairs, suitable for children and adults, benefit staff and patients. They can be raised so the Orthoptist can assess a child at eye level for patient comfort and prevent back strain for Orthoptists. They are sturdy, have arm rests, with a solid base to prevent tipping and are wipe clean. They can also be locked into position to prevent a child spinning in the chair when being tested.
The Friends have supported the purchase of these chairs (and in the outpatients department previously), as NHS funding to replace existing chairs is not currently prioritised over other more critical equipment.
This grant cost £6,858.
31 July 2022
Emergency Department now have their own Thomson Test Charts!
The hospital uses Thomson Test Charts to check patients’ vision as an integral part of their examination in the Emergency Department.
We have purchased four Thomson Charts complete with mini PCs and 24″ clinical quality LCD monitors including infrared control and wall mounting brackets. We also paid for annual software support, installation and staff training provided by Thomson Software Solutions.
Prior to our purchasing these, the ED had to borrow charts from Outpatients. ED now have their own permanent charts.
This grant cost £6,868.
28 April 2022
New Privacy Screens in Emergency Department Treatment Room
The Friends have bought four mobile folding privacy screens for the Emergency Department treatment room. All patients who attend ED have to go through the treatment room. The new screens, which replace inadequate curtains, provide additional privacy for patients and allow more flexible use of the space available.
This grant cost £6,229.
28 April 2022
New “hyperlegible” website typeface
For the benefit of visually impaired readers, this website now uses the Atkinson Hyperlegible typeface, which was recently developed for the Braille Institute of America.
The typeface is named after Braille Institute founder, J. Robert Atkinson. What makes it different from traditional typographic design is its focus on ensuring that individual characters cannot be confused with one another, ultimately improving readability. Also, the shaping of the letters is exaggerated to provide better clarity and the open areas of certain letters are expanded to provide greater distinction.
The Braille Institute has made the typeface free for anyone to use.
16 March 2022
Our new typeface makes it easier to distinguish characters that are commonly confused.
“Everything I Can See”
Emma Don held an exhibition entitled “Everything I Can See” at Cardiff School of Art & Design from 8 to 14 June 2022.
Emma raised funds for Friends of Bristol Eye Hospital in thanks for treatment and care she has received for anterior uveitis at Bristol Eye Hospital since 2012.
“Eyesight is such an important sense for everyone, and this becomes even more so on receiving a diagnosis adversely affecting that.”
Emma specialises in 3D stop motion animation which is a very visual medium, but she plans to incorporate audio elements into her work to make it more accessible for the visually impaired.
24 March 2022, updated 29 July
Wonderful service resumed
Wonderful Payments have resumed their service, which enables us to expand our range of donation methods.
You can:
DONATE BY BANK TRANSFER. We incur no charges for donations made by Open Banking transfers. Operated by Wonderful Payments.
DONATE BY CARD. Here you can also donate in honour or memory of someone; become a members of the Friends (if you wish), tell us whether and how you wish us to correspond with you or let us know of any particular reason why you are donating. Operated by Donorbox.
DONATE BY OTHER METHODS, eg Cheque, Cash or Text.
You can make a Gift Aid declaration under any of these.
16 July 2021, updated 26 July
From our archives
Friends’ Chairman Annette Barrington, supported by Friends trustees and Eye Hospital staff, presents a giant cheque to BEH Consultant Richard Haynes in 2010 in recognition of our total support since 1977 exceeding £1 million.