Roger and Jean Jefcoate donate Â£7k to Scanappeal's 'Eye See' campaign

Roger and Jean Jefcoate visited the ophthalmology department to donate 7,000 from their family charitable trust, based in Winslow.

Dr Larry Benjamin, consultant ophthalmologist at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “The very generous donation from The Roger and Jean Jefcoate Trust will be used for equipment to remove cataracts and repair retinal problems.

We operate on around 4,500 patients with cataracts a year and the numbers are rising due to an ageing population. These new machines will keep us at the cutting edge for years to come, making operations much safer and more efficient. This donation will benefit a large number of patients and all the staff at the eye unit are extremely grateful”.

Roger Jefcoate CBE DL has a long association with Stoke Mandeville Hospital having been a leader of Sir Ludwig Guttmann’s team at the National Spinal Injuries Centre pioneering independent living technology for severely disabled people, including Possum, the world’s first remote control system which is still provided by the NHS.

Mr Jefcoate said: “We are pleased to support Stoke Mandeville Hospital in this way, being so impressed with Larry Benjamin’s work, both here and overseas; he is very much an unsung hero.”

The Roger and Jean Jefcoate Trust supports a few carefully selected local, regional and small national healthcare and disability charities for older people in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes and adjacent counties, especially charities which promote health and wellbeing through information, advice and practical help like developing or providing special needs technology

The Eye See appeal was started in Spring 2016 and a vitrectomy machine for complex eye surgery was purchased in November. Lisa Trivett, director of Scannappeal, said: “Thanks to Roger and Jean‘s tremendous support we will shortly be in a position to order a phacoemulsification machine to help improve cataract surgery.”

The fundraising is continuing for the remaining £180,000 for three more specialist machines to improve and restore vision, see www.scannappeal.org.uk/our-appeals for full details