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The Queen arrives at hospital |
All eyes on the Queen as she opens Moorfields kids’ centre
Bagpipes welcome royal party to £15m state of the art children’s eye clinic
LARGE crowds gathered on Friday morning to see the Queen as she officially opened a new children’s eye centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital in Finsbury.
Her Majesty was joined by the model Jordan, accompanied by her singer husband Peter Andre, and Richard Desmond, the newspaper baron who paid £2.5 million towards the £15 million project.
Jordan’s disabled son Harvey is a long-time recipient of the specialist eye care provided at the hospital.
All six floors of the Peerless Street treatment and research centre, which took two years to complete, are colour-coded and have their own unique features, such as a giant games pod.
The outside wall facing the St Luke’s Estate is illuminated at night with multi-coloured lights.
With thousands of youngsters desperate for treatment, The Richard Desmond Children’s Eye Centre, in Peerless Street, has been open for business since the beginning of February.
Mr Desmond said: “It’s a great day for Moorfields, and I am extremely proud to have my name associated with this fantastic hospital.
The Queen was greeted on the steps of the new centre by Sir Thomas Boyd Carpenter, chairman of Moorfields and the Deputy Lieutenant of Islington, Brian Kay.
She was welcomed by a bagpiper and children from Moreland primary school, in Moreland Street, Finsbury, who sang her a special song about the hospital.
The Queen was taken a tour of the new centre, where she was shown the facilities, met members of staff and unveiled a plaque.
Sir Thomas said in his speech: “Moorfields includes the largest concentration of consultant ophthalmologists anywhere in the world. Children represent a very important part of our work – last year there were more than 26,000 appointments for children and we have made some very exciting breakthroughs in recent years.
“However, our buildings didn’t match, and we were practising 21st-century medicine in 19th-century surroundings.”
Cancer books
VITAL information on cancer will be more accessible at Camden and Islington’s libraries, thanks to a £4,000 donation from Macmillan Cancer Support.
Families and sufferers will be able to read up on how to cope and borrow books on common cancers, complementary therapies and the emotional impact of the disease.
Extra books have been bought and library staff given training as part of the project, which also involves Camden and Islington Councils, and the North London Cancer Network.
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