Moorfields Eye Hospital

Moorfields Eye Hospital was founded at Charterhouse Square in 1805 as the London Dispensary for curing diseases of the Eye and Ear, by John Cunningham Saunders, assisted by John Richard Farre.[3] It moved to a site on the former Moorfields in 1822,[4] before moving to its present site in 1899, and became part of the National Health Service in 1948. These anniversaries gave it the unique ability to celebrate a centenary in 1999 and a bicentenary in 2005.[5]

In February 2007, the new Richard Desmond Children's Eye Centre (RDCEC), was opened by the Queen. Its location is adjacent to the hospital's main City Road building.[6]

In December 2021, it was announced that the hospital will relocate to a new facility near King's Cross railway station and the Moorfields building had been sold to private developers.[7][8]

Moorfields Eye Hospital is a major centre for postgraduate training of ophthalmologists, orthoptists, optometrists, and nurses. It has also played a pivotal role in ophthalmic research. Sir Stewart Duke-Elder founded the Institute of Ophthalmology (now an integral part of University College London), and Sir Harold Ridley, Charles Schepens, and Norman Ashton have carried out research at Moorfields and the Institute.[9]

Founded in 1963, The Friends of Moorfields Charity is an independent registered charity, raising funds for the benefit of the patients of Moorfields Eye Hospital. The primary aim of this charity is to provide supplementary services and equipment for the comfort and well-being of Moorfields' patients and their visitors. It contributes towards buying much needed technical items for professional use in the hospital's clinics, satellite centres, operating theatres and research laboratories. The charity also promotes and manages a wide range of volunteers, supporting the work and service of the hospital.[10]

Moorfields Eye Charity is an independent registered charity for Moorfields Eye Hospital. Moorfields Eye Charity raises funds, above and beyond those normally provided by the NHS, to support and promote the work and research of Moorfields Eye Hospital, for the benefit of patients and staff, by raising extra funds to enhance services, research, equipment and facilities including a major joint – Moorfields and Institute of Ophthalmology, UCL – new building project.[11]

The Special Trustees of Moorfields Eye Hospital (charity number 228064) is a grant-giving body, which primarily supports research carried out at the hospital and research partners at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, alongside a range of other projects.[12]

• Selig Percy Amoils (1933), South African ophthalmologist and biomedical engineering inventor
• Eric Arnott (1929–2011), British ophthalmologist and surgeon
• Vivian Balakrishnan (1961), Singapore Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Alan C. Bird (1938), English ophthalmologist
• Geoffrey Bridgeman, British soldier and ophthalmologist
• John Dalrymple (1803–1852), English ophthalmologist
• James Hamilton Doggart (1900–1989), leading British ophthalmologist
• Frank Flynn (1906–2000), Northern Territory-based Australian doctor (ophthalmologist), author and missionary priest
• Frederick T. Fraunfelder (1934), American ophthalmologist
• Norman Gregg (1892–1966), Australian ophthalmologist
• Robert Marcus Gunn (1850–1909), Scottish ophthalmologist
• Michael B. Gorin, American ophthalmologist
• William Hancock (1873–1910), English ophthalmologist
• Henry Bendelack Hewetson (1850–1899), ophthalmic and Aural surgeon
• Fred Hollows (1929–1993), New Zealand-Australian ophthalmologist
• Keith Martin, British ophthalmologist
• Gordon Morgan Holmes (1876–1965), British neurologist
• Ulrich Meyer-Bothling, English ophthalmic surgeon
• Edward Nettleship (1845–1913), English ophthalmologist
• Charles Conor O'Malley (1889–1982), Irish eye surgeon
• James Hogarth Pringle (1863–1941), Scottish surgeon
• Dan Reinstein (1962), ophthalmologist
• Harold Ridley (1906–2001), English ophthalmologist
• Geoffrey Rose (1955), English ophthalmologist
• Charles Schepens (1912–2006), Belgian (later American) ophthalmologist
• Ċensu Tabone (1913–2012), fourth President of Malta
• James Taylor (1u59-1946), British neurologist
• William Taylor (1912–1989), Scottish ophthalmologist
• Edward Treacher Collins (1862–1932), English surgeon and ophthalmologist
• Clive Warren, radio presenter
• Claud Worth, ophthalmologist; known for "Worth's squint"

• Healthcare in London
• List of hospitals in England

• Trust website
• Moorfields Eye Hospital on the NHS website
• Care Quality Commission inspection reports
• Moorfields Eye Hospital UAE Official Site
• Moorfields Private Patients Official Site