Specsavers raises funds for premature babies’ eyecare

From left: Michael O’Kane from Specsavers with his daughter Sophie, Sarra, Lady Hoy, BLISS Scotland ambassador, with neonatologist Professor Ben Stenson. Photography: Colin Hattersley

Cutting-edge equipment for examining premature and sick babies is now in place at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh thanks to a £73,000 fundraiser by Specsavers practices in Scotland.

Teams from across the business raised the money after being moved by the story of Michael O’Kane, practice director in Morningside and Cameron Toll. His daughter Sophie, now 9, was born at 24 weeks weighing just 1lb 15oz.

Specsavers donated the funds to the Simpsons Special Care Babies (SSCB) charity to buy a piece of equipment called a PanoCam for the Neonatal Unit at the Royal Infirmary. 

Premature babies are at high risk of retinopathy. Their eyes need to be checked regularly due to rapid changes in organ development in what would have been the last three months of pregnancy, which can put them under a lot of stress. The PanoCam is wireless and handheld, providing a much quicker and safer way to examine them.

Alongside the fundraiser, Specsavers’ Scottish stores also backed Bliss Scotland as their charity of the year to support premature babies and their families.

Michael said: ‘There were times when I feared Sophie wouldn’t pull through but she recovered thanks to incredible support from the neonatal unit, and I will forever be grateful.

‘This fundraiser is testament to what can be achieved when you club together to make a difference, and myself and all my colleagues across Scotland feel immensely proud to have helped bring this equipment to the hospital.’

He joined Bliss ambassador Sarra, Lady Hoy, a lawyer and wife of cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy, at the neonatal unit. Her son Callum was born at 29 weeks back in 2014. They were shown the equipment by consultant neonatologist Professor Ben Stenson. 

Lady Hoy said: ‘As a parent on the neonatal unit, it’s so frightening to see your baby undergo lots of invasive procedures which can be really stressful for them when they’re so tiny. This equipment – together with the support that Bliss is providing to families thanks to Specsavers’ incredible fundraising – will make such a difference to babies and their families.’

Staff at the unit are being trained in the PanoCam which, as well as being used to examine premature babies, can also be used to detect ocular tumours in older children.

Mercedes Perez-Botella, director of midwifery, NHS Lothian, said: ‘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.’ 

Stores from all over Scotland donated £2 from OCT scans and earwax removals during a two-month period. MED Surgical, the company which supplies the Visunex PanoCam Pro, contributed £40,000.