Kirkcaldy opticians help to raise £73,000 for Scotland’s premature and sick babies

The funds have been donated to buy a cutting-edge piece of equipment called a PanoCam Pro for the Simpson Neonatal Unit in Edinburgh.

Premature babies need their eyes 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 provides a much quicker and safer way to examine them.

To help raise the funds, the Kirkcaldy store agreed to donate £2 from optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans which can help detect treatable eye conditions.

Kathryn Thompson, an optometrist at the Kirkcaldy store, said: “We were inspired to do our bit for this amazing fundraiser after hearing the inspiring story of one of our colleagues in Scotland whose daughter was born at 24 weeks weighing just 1lb 15oz, and beat the odds thanks to the support of the neonatal unit.

“We are proud that the funds generated here in Kirkcaldy with help from our customers will help to bring this cutting-edge equipment to a unit that helps babies.”

Launched in autumn 2021, the initiative was part of a dual announcement which saw Bliss Scotland designated as the opticians’ Charity of the Year.

Lady Sarra Hoy, Bliss ambassador, and wife of cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy, said: "It’s so rewarding for everyone involved to be able to see the reality of their donation, which will have a direct impact and positive outcome on babies and their families.”

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