Appeal milestone as first patient has eye surgery at the Friarage

The efforts of our recent Eye Appeal became a reality this week, with the first patient to have eye surgery using the new equipment at the Friarage hospital on Wednesday 8th October.

Our Eye Appeal was launched back in February 2024, with the aim of raising £200,000 to support the Friarage’s eye department in bringing vitreo-retinal eye surgery treatment to the new £35.5m Friarage Surgical Centre. The target was reached in June this year and the eye team were given permission to go ahead and purchase the equipment.

Patients in Hambleton & Richmondshire were likely to have to travel to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough for treatment, which for some, means long and expensive journeys. Friends of the Friarage firmly believe that all patients have the right to be treated as close to home as possible.

Northallerton resident, Andrew McDonald, was the first patient to benefit from the new service and underwent a double procedure under local anaesthetic to treat a long-standing condition in his left eye, under the care of Mr Ahmed Saad, Consultant Ophthalmologist & Vitreo-retinal Surgeon. The surgery was a success and Andrew was at home recovering just a few hours later.

Software Engineer, Andrew, explained how previous procedures at James Cook had made him reliant on friends to drive him there and back. He spoke of his delight at being able to have operation so close to home and of his experience at the new centre;

“It is just jaw-droppingly wonderful, it’s very well laid out and obviously everything is so clean and new. The team who looked after me were fantastic, it was such a personalised service, they were so slick and attentive - I didn’t feel like just a number in the system. Mr Saad explained the procedure and what the equipment does which I was very interested in - our eyes are such a fragile yet important part of our body so it was reassuring to be given that information beforehand.

I am so grateful to everyone who helped Friends of the Friarage to make this happen and of course the eye team for looking after me so well. The surgery was over with so quickly and then all I needed was to take a short cab ride back home which made such a big difference.”