A NEW eye care unit in Shoreham-by-Sea received a royal seal of approval yesterday when it was officially opened by Her Royal Highness the Countess of Wessex, GCVO.

Western Sussex Eye Care | Southlands opened at Southlands Hospital following a multi-million pound investment by Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

HRH toured the new facility, meeting with patients, staff, volunteers and supporters before unveiling a commemorative plaque and declaring the purpose-designed ophthalmology unit officially open.

Among those invited to speak with HRH was Edith Bain, an 82-year-old patient from Southbourne, who was blind for 70 years in one eye before her vision was restored by the trust’s eye care team.

Mrs Bain said: “The Western Sussex eye care service is absolutely marvellous and for me it has been nothing short of life-changing.

“Before my operation I was often nervous but now I have a new lease of life. Thank you.”

HRH met with Mrs Bain as well as her surgeon, Masoud Teimory, in one of the two specialist ophthalmic operating theatres located within the new eye unit’s day surgery department.

Mr Teimory, who for more than decade was a driving force behind the development of Western Sussex Eye Care | Southlands, said: “We are very proud to offer access to some of the best ophthalmic assessment and surgical facilities in the country, matching our other excellent facility at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester.

“We are confident the impressive range of clinical skills, combined with latest technology and clinical facilities, together with ambitions for training future surgeons, will propel us as a new clinical centre of excellence in the UK.”