Eye catching new equipment for St Helier Hospital

Staff at the Eye Unit at St Helier Hospital have unveiled a brand new, state-of-the-art piece of equipment donated by the generous volunteers of the League of Friends.

The piece of kit, worth £21,000, tests peripheral vision (the sight seen surrounding your central gaze) in order to help patients with varying conditions, such as those with glaucoma, brain tumours and those about to undergo eye operations. The recently installed gold standard machine, known as the Humphrey Visual Field Analyser, is now in place to treat all those that use the Eye Unit. The department needed the new additional machine to meet increased clinical demand as the service expanded when it moved to St Helier last year.

Eleanor Burley, Head Orthoptist (a specialist for conditions of the eye) said: “Losing any part of your vision, including your peripheral field, can be very limiting and so it’s vitally important that we can recognise and manage any changes in vision as soon as possible – that’s why having this machine is so important for us, and the patients that we care for.

“It is going to be a particularly powerful tool in the fight against glaucoma, which is one of the leading causes of blindness. Glaucoma results in excess pressure on the optic nerve, eventually damaging sight and without treatment, it can lead to blindness. If and when we find a change, the doctors and/or consultants can change the medication (eye drops) or if needed, operate to ensure that we can maintain the patient’s sight.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at The League of Friends and everyone who has donated to make this possible.”

Val Brundle, Chairman of the League of Friends explained: “Our volunteers work really hard to support the staff and patients of St Helier Hospital and so we are absolutely delighted to donate this state-of-the-art piece of equipment. It fits in perfectly with the rest of the new £2.3 million Eye Unit, which opened last July. We are very happy that we can help and always want to help with anything that will benefit patients and provides the trust with world class equipment.”

The League of Friends undertake vital work at St Helier and without the commitment of many volunteers, the support that they provide could not continue. If you would like to help out at the League of Friends either by donation or volunteering then you can contact them on either leagueoffriends@hotmail.com or val.brundle@esth.nhs.uk and find out how you can help them with the great work that they do.