NGH's eye department celebrates its 100th anniversary

The Mayor and Mayoress with plaque

Northampton General Hospital’s Eye Department – Singlehurst Ward – celebrated its 100th anniversary today (Friday, July 26).

Staff old and new gathered in the unit which is in the older part of the hospital off Billing Road, and were joined by the Mayor of Northampton, Cllr Paul Joyce, and Mayoress, Mylissa Joyce, to unveil a plaque to mark the occasion.

Over the last 100 years the department has supported tens of thousands of local people through a huge variety of eye operations and treatments.

It has helped to prevent and cure conditions which can lead to blindness and supported thousands of older people with cataracts to regain their vision in the later years of their life.

Speaking at the event NGH’s Directorate Manager for Ophthalmology, Julie Wilson, said: “It is an honour and pleasure to welcome every one of you here this afternoon for this truly historic celebration of 100 years and we hope you will enjoy being part of it.

“Anniversaries are the opportunity to recollect years gone by and today we gather to celebrate 100 years of our department

“I am extremely proud to work alongside our amazing colleagues here in Ophthalmology and to be able to play a part in shaping our eyecare services for the future, as over the coming years we will see profound changes in the level of demand for eye care and the way it is delivered as our population becomes older. “

Mayor of Northampton, Cllr Paul Joyce, and Mayoress, Mylissa Joyce, said: “We are delighted to have been part of celebrations marking the past 100 years of the department and its positive impact on our local residents’ eye care.

“The event really highlighted the importance of the service provided by ophthalmology department here at the Singlehurst Ward “.

The hospital’s Archives provided pictures and information on the department’s 100-year journey since its launch as an outpatients’ department on June 24, 1924.

This followed a donation from Thomas Singlehurst and his wife – a local boot and shoe magnate.

• Recent improvements to ophthalmology at NGH in the last two years have included:
• Appointing an Eye Clinic Liaison Officer from the Northamptonshire Association for the Blind (NAB) who provides emotional support, information, signposting, and referral, and acts as a bridge between health and social services.
• Introducing a new Preserflo Microshunt procedure for our glaucoma patients which helps to lower the eye pressure, helps prevent glaucoma progression, and reduces the need for medication
• Introducing new equipment for the department such as an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) machine which uses light waves to take cross-section pictures of the retina and a portable Optos machine to deliver Retinopathy of Prematurity screening for babies to look for abnormal blood vessels in the eye.
• Introducing Cataract One-Stop Clinics so that patients have their pre-operative assessment, are seen by a consultant, and leave with a date for their surgery, all on the same day. The hospital has also introduced High Volume Low Complexity Cataract theatre to see more patients and reduce waiting times
• Started work on the implementation of an electronic eye care referral system which allows opticians to refer directly into the hospital and upload scans to the hospital directly and securely.
• Created a children friendly space within the Eye Casualty Department to make it more appealing, less stressful and to provide distraction for our younger attendees during the waiting time.

Looking ahead Julie added: “We are working in collaboration with Kettering General Hospital, Optometrists, Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust, and the county’s Integrated Care Board to develop our eye care strategy plan.

“This strategy provides a clear vision and objectives for the eye care services over the next three to five years and it will be the basis for future initiatives, business cases, and transformation and collaboration work between the healthcare providers.

“The aim will be to ensure the services’ clinical and operational sustainability whilst providing the best care for our patients.”

Singlehurst Eye Department celebrates Centenary

The eye service’s origins at NGH began when an outpatients building was added to the site in 1878. It later appointed an ophthalmic surgeon, Dr Evan Harries Jones in 1901.

As a result the average number of eye patients rose from an average of 15-20 a week to between 60-80 per week. This steady increase in work required more room in the form of a purpose-built ophthalmic out-patient department. This was paid for by Mr and Mrs Thomas Singlehurst and handed over to the use of the hospital on June 24,1924, which is the 100-year anniversary being celebrated. In 1930, Mr T. Singlehurst offered to buy a new in-patient ophthalmic department.

The Duke of York (later to become King George VI) agreed to lay the foundation stone of this building on May 27th, 1930.

Who was Thomas Singlehurst J.P.

Thomas started as a boot and shoe manufacturer in 1879, aged 19, and soon afterwards was joined in partnership by James Gulliver. As the business grew they finally moved into much larger premises known as the Speedwell Works in Oliver Street, Kingsley.

Thomas’s eyesight was very poor, and he eventually went blind, but he and his wife, funded the Eye Outpatient department and later the Eye Ward. He retired in 1913 because of his failing eyesight and eventually became blind.His portrait hangs in the corridor of the eye ward.

The front of Northampton General Hospital in the 1930’s showing Singlehurst Eye Department.