Local Lions support sight saving surgery

Thanks to the generosity of the East Grinstead and District Lions Club, the Queen Victoria Hospital has a new piece of equipment which will play an important part in its sight saving surgery.

The East Grinstead-based Lions Club, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, made a donation to the QVH Charity to fund a Laminar Flow Cabinet. The specialist piece of equipment, installed in the hospital’s eye bank, maintains a sterile clean air environment, similar to a laboratory environment. It means preparations for cornea transplant operations can now be done outside of the operating theatre. This saves valuable theatre time and will enable more patients to be treated by the corneoplastics and ophthalmology team.

Queen Victoria Hospital carries out over 250 cornea transplant operations a year, giving people the gift of sight thanks to those who choose to donate their corneas after they pass away. The team travel across Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and as well as preparing corneas for transplantation are willing to speak to both professionals and families about how to have the important conversation on donation.

The hospital’s team was delighted to welcome members of the local Lions group to the eye bank to find out more about how important their support is to its corneal transplantation work.

Commenting on the Lion’s generosity, Dr Nigel Jordan who heads up Queen Victoria Hospital’s eye bank, said: “It is with great thanks that we have received the Laminar Flow Cabinet which the East Grinstead Lions kindly funded for us. This will greatly reduce the time currently taken in our operating theatres to prepare them and enable additional operations to be performed with the time saved.”

Speaking on behalf of the Lions, Brian Richens said: “East Grinstead and District Lions Club, was pleased to provide the majority of funding to purchase the Laminar Flow Cabinet, which was supplemented by a grant from the Chichester Lions Sight Fund. Our visit to the eye unit to see the cabinet in situ and hear how it will be used was captivating. The club is thrilled to be involved with a change in procedure that will both assist the surgeons and benefit patients too.”

Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon, Damian Lake, commented: “We’d like to thank the Lions Club for their ongoing support of Queen Victoria Hospital, and in particular our eye bank. It was a pleasure to meet members of the club and explain the real difference their support will make to our patients.”

Pictured: Queen Victoria Hospital with the East Grinstead Lions (back row, left to right) Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon Damian Lake, Ron Millen, Dr Nigel Jordan, Richard Parr. (Front row, left to right) Jim Miller, Brian Richens and Keith Pratt.

If you would like to find out more about how you can support the hospital via the QVH Charity please email Camilla.slattery@nhs.net or phone 01342 414170. You can also find information on www.supportqvh.org

For more information please contact the QVH Press Office on 01342 414508.