Foundation awards £10 million for new eye health centre
Melanie May | 6 June 2023 | News
The Garfield Weston Foundation has awarded £10 million to Moorfields Eye Charity for a new integrated centre for advancing eye health.
The centre, called Oriel, will be the new home for Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, and is set to open in 2027.
The £10 million grant will help to further eye research and treatment, and will support bringing clinicians and researchers from Moorfields Eye Hospital and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology together under one roof for closer collaborative working.
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Oriel is the joint initiative between Moorfields Eye Hospital, the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Charity, and will see services move from their current premises near Old Street to part of the St Pancras Hospital site in Camden.
With this cross-disciplinary approach, Oriel will aim to increase the pace at which new discoveries and treatments are developed.
The Garfield Weston Foundation is one of the first donors, while Moorfields Eye Charity has committed £10 million from its own resources to Oriel. Moorfields Eye Charity and UCL are working in partnership on a fundraising campaign to support the new centre, and today’s news is the first of a number of Oriel donor announcements the charity has said it will be making.
Philippa Charles, director of the Garfield Weston Foundation said:
“Our trustees are delighted to support this integrated care, research and education centre which will benefit those affected by eye health conditions on a global scale. The new centre will build on Moorfields’ and UCL’s reputation for excellence with new treatments, providing the best care for patients and saving people’s sight.”
Robert Dufton, chief executive, Moorfields Eye Charity added:
“We’re so very grateful to the Garfield Weston Foundation for their generous gift which will help transform the future of eye health. The new eye health centre will harness the expertise of the partners with closer working between clinicians and researchers speeding up the delivery of the highest quality treatments and therapies for patients.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.