A routine appointment for Simon St Leger-Harris revealed he had three separate detachments in his retinas and he was admitted to Bristol Eye Hospital.

“It was pure luck that I had an appointment at the opticians that day,” he said. Simon has since undergone numerous operations to reattach his retinas, each of which required long periods of lying face down to aid recovery. He has also endured further operations to correct his lifelong double vision, a squint and cataracts.

“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. I joined the Friends of Bristol Eye Hospital charity and became a trustee, and the following year became the treasurer.”

8 December 2024

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. The aim would be to improve the quality of consultations – and potentially support staff productivity through reduced time spent explaining processes in clinic. They added that it would also be a way “to showcase our 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.

7 December 2024

A big welcome to Carole Brooke, the new secretary of Friends of Bristol Eye Hospital.

As a retired Practice Manager running a busy GP surgery, Carole has had plenty of experience of being highly organised and having to get things done within tight timescales!

Carole explained that she was asked if she would like to become a member of  Friends of Bristol Eye Hospital following what she describes as a “very scary incident” involving her eyes.

Click the button below to read Carole’s story.

3 December 2024

Dr Alan Abraham, a research training fellow in ophthalmology at Bristol Eye Hospital, is investigating the possibility of using a new form of gene therapy to treat uveitis, which is a major cause of blindness in working-age people in the UK.

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Uveitis affects around one in a thousand individuals.

29 December 2024

Image: Anterior uveitis with active disease. In a 30-year-old female with active anterior uveitis, peripheral vessel leakage was detected using ultra-wide-field fluorescein angiography. Source: A Prospective, Observational Study on the Application of Ultra-Wide-Field Angiography in the Evaluation and Management of Patients with Anterior Uveitis; Chi Y, Guo C, Peng Y, Qiao L, Yang L (PLoS ONE, 2015)

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Click here to view the video on YouTube.

30 November 2024

Patients, staff and visitors to the Bristol Eye Hospital in Upper Maudlin Street are praising the clean-up of the famous brick murals that are set into the wall to the left of the main entrance.

They were installed when the eye hospital was renovated in 1986. At that time they were the largest non-reinforced brick reliefs ever carved and were acclaimed as one of the finest public works of art in the country.

29 November 2024

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 26 November 2024

Friends of Bristol Eye Hospital are grateful for the significant legacy left to the charity by Constance Gibson.

This money will be used to further help patients and staff with items and other expenditure that, while needed, are outside the NHS budget.

Many future patients will be benefitting from Constance’s generous and kind gift.

If you would like to make a donation to help others at the hospital, please take a look at our ‘Donate’ page.

23 November 2024