Specsavers practices in Scotland jointly raised £73,000 for neonatal eye equipment that will be donated to the Simpson Centre for Reproductive Health at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
Through the donations, Simpsons Special Care Babies (SSCB) charity bought a PanoCam for the hospital, which examines premature babies who are at risk of retinopathy.
The Scottish practices also backed Bliss Scotland as their Charity of the Year to further support Scotland’s premature babies and their families.
Bliss Scotland’s ambassador Lady Sarra Hoy and Michael O’Kane, a Specsavers optician and practice director at Morningside and Cameron Toll, were given a tour of the equipment and neonatal unit.
Mercedes Perez-Botella, directory of midwifery, NHS Lothian, thanked Specsavers and SSCB, saying: ‘We are delighted that the PanoCam will soon be operational at the Simpson Centre. Retinopathy is a prevalent problem for babies who are born prematurely, and we hope that this new equipment will help our neonatal doctors to promptly identify any deterioration in the baby’s retina and act accordingly to prevent damage.'