Tag: Specsavers

Specsavers fundraiser brings new equipment to Royal Infirmary to help premature and sick babies

Cutting-edge equipment for examining premature and sick babies is now in place at the Neonatal Unit in the Simpson Centre for Reproductive Health in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh thanks to a £73,000 fundraiser by Specsavers stores across Scotland.

Teams from across the business raised the money after being moved by the story of colleague Michael O’Kane whose daughter Sophie (now 9) was born at 24weeks weighing just 1lb 15oz.

They 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 of Edinburgh. 

Premature babies are at high risk of retinopathy which can cause blindness – they 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.

Alongside the fundraiser, Specsavers’ Scottish stores also backed Bliss Scotland as their Charity of the Year to further support Scotland’s premature babies and their families – so the charity’s ambassador Lady Sarra Hoy (whose son Callum was born at 29wks back in 2014) came along to the Royal Infirmary to celebrate the success of the campaign.

Michael O’Kane, a Specsavers optician and store director in Morningside and Cameron Toll, says: ‘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 Lady Sarra Hoy, a lawyer by profession and wife of cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy, at the Neonatal Unit where they were shown the equipment by Professor Ben Stenson, Consultant Neonatologist at the Neonatal Unit, NHS Lothian and SSCB representative.

Lady Sarra Hoy says: ‘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 are providing to families thanks to Specsavers’ incredible fundraising – will make such a difference to babies and their families.”

Staff at the unit are currently being trained in using 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, Directory of Midwifery, NHS Lothian, says: ‘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.

‘I am sure parents will also welcome this addition to our resources as it will provide them with extra reassurance about the high level of care their babies will get while in the Neonatal Unit.

“We would like to sincerely thank Specsavers and Simpsons Special Care Babies for fundraising for this new equipment, we know that this will make a real difference to families within the Neonatal Unit.”

The funds to purchase the equipment were raised by stores from all over the country who donated £2 from optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans (which helps to spot serious eye conditions, including glaucoma, up to four years earlier than traditional methods) and from earwax removals during a two-month period.

MED Surgical, the company which supplies the Visunex PanoCam Pro, usually charge £113,000 but generously contributed £40,000 to make Specsavers’ fundraising target of £73k more attainable.

Precious little moments keep Edinburgh smiling in today’s tough times

  • Sunday roast voted our favourite pleasurable pastime during pandemic
  • A compliment makes us smile more than gifts or flowers
  • We’re still smiling despite wearing face masks – and using our eyes to help us

IT’S the simple things in life that are keeping us smiling across Scotland in increasingly challenging times, according to new research by Specsavers, with the sound of the doorbell indicating a takeaway or other delivery most likely to bring a smile to our faces.

The Specsavers Smile Study has revealed that spending time with loved ones makes 92 per cent of us in Edinburgh smile more than anything else and getting together for a traditional family Sunday roast was cited as our favourite thing to do throughout the pandemic.

The study also revealed that receiving a smile – or a smize[3] – from someone else is what makes people smile most at the moment[4]. And despite face masks currently concealing our smiles, 55 per cent of us in Scotland still smile when wearing one, with almost half of respondents admitting that they are now expressing themselves more using their eyes because people can’t see their mouths.

Dr Carlos Crivelli, a leading psychologist and expert in the science of smiling at De Montfort University in Leicester, has reviewed the survey findings: ‘When you limit the opportunities to interact with others by imposing lockdowns and physical distancing restrictions, you can see the impact that it has on the usual tools that we use to interact.

‘As part of this social interaction toolkit, smiles play an important role. Despite not being able to use smiles due to face masks, a positive outtake from these findings is that most people across the UK (80%) reported that they can rely on the upper part of the face to interact with others.

‘The science of facial behaviour – why we smile and how we use smiles in social interaction – is fascinating. For example, we smile to bond or affiliate, when we would like to reward others, to reciprocate, or to keep the interaction going,’ explains Dr Crivelli.

‘Specsavers’ Smile Study found that respondents from Edinburgh perceive people smiling to be more cooperative (81%), friendlier (85%) and more attractive (74%), and our confidence increases when people smile at us (73%).’

While smiling is infectious, other small acts of kindness go a long way. The research revealed money and time are not essential to make someone smile – we are more likely to offer compliments or praise (43%), rather than giving flowers (7%) or gifts (14%). A quarter of us also admit that the most recent thing we have done to make someone else smile is to tell them that we love them.

When it comes to cheering ourselves up, in the absence of visiting friends or going to the pub, the top answers were calling friends or family, listening to music or watching a comedy show.

Encouraging us to keep on smiling as times look set to become even tougher are father and son, Martin and Roman Kemp, known for cheering up the nation on their new Sunday Best TV show.

Former Spandau Ballet musician and actor, Martin, says: ‘Staying in touch and speaking with people who make you smile helps you focus on your happiness and theirs and we all need that right now.

‘A smile is infectious and even though we’re all mostly hidden by masks at the moment, you get a rush from smiling that helps boost your spirits. And you can still see a smile in the eyes. They aren’t called the windows of the soul for nothing – they can reveal your feelings, your individuality and your personality.’

Reflecting the survey findings, Martin says there are certain things that are sure to bring a smile to his face: ‘There’s so much that makes me smile – good news especially when there’s so much bad news around, seeing other people smile and laugh – and the smell of good food!’

DJ and TV presenter, Roman, says: ‘For me, it’s watching Arsenal win and that’ll always put a big smile on my face! And I’m so lucky to do a job that means I have get to make people smile every morning. You can tell when someone is smiling when they call in, you really can hear it in their voice.

‘Working with my dad is a blessing too. We have the same sense of humour and laugh at the same silly things, so being able to spend so much time together over the last few challenging months has been great.’

Martin agrees: ‘Yeah, Roman makes me smile and laugh all the time – sometimes for the wrong reasons!

The survey was commissioned as part of Specsavers new Something to Smile About multi-channel campaign, which focuses on real people smiling with their eyes to the soundtrack of Michael Bublé singing When You’re Smiling, to celebrate the positivity and joy that a simple smile can bring when times are difficult.

For more information visit specsavers.co.uk.