Eyes have it (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

Eyes have it

1:08pm Friday 5th February 2010

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THE latest in eye surgery equipment – costing £28,000 – has been donated to Darlington Memorial Hospital.

The oculight laser and opthalmoscope are among several pieces of specialist equipment, together worth more than £137,000, given by Friends of the hospital and the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service.

Over the past three years, the WRVS and the Friends have worked together on fundraising campaigns to raise money for the ophthalmology department, organising coffee mornings, bucket collections and receiving donations from companies and charity evenings at Darlington Rotary Club.

Money raised has gone on three technologically advanced pieces of eye equipment, including a £53,000 OCT scanner, which produces detailed images of the eye, and a £56,000 scopeguide The scopeguide gives a more intricate view of the eye area under examination.

Sally Buckley, consultant ophthalmic surgeon, and Paul Robson, operating theatre charge nurse, accepted the latest piece during a recent presentation.

The equipment allows delicate surgery to be performed on eyes with a laser, which is more comfortable for the patient.

Ms Buckley said: “We are delighted to receive this equipment from the WRVS and the Friends of the Hospital and thank them for their fantastic fundraising efforts. This is the latest in innovative technology which enables greater precision and reliability for eye doctors and gives our patients access to the best equipment and the best results.”

The donation puts the hospital at the forefront of eye surgery.

Alan Charlton, chairman of the Friends, said: “If even 100 people benefit from the new devices, it is definitely money well spent.”

The Friends group has been raising money for more than 50 years for medical projects chosen after talking to staff about which would be the most worthy.

The next joint WRVS and Friends challenge is raise £60,000 for a wide-field paediatric digital retinal imaging system, a device that allows highly-detailed images of babies’ eyes to be safely screened.

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