The Sydney Hospital now has an officially opened million state-of-the-art Bicentennial Eye Clinic by the Health Minister Jillian Skinner. Mrs Skinner said the purpose-built clinic will provide high-level ophthalmic care to local patients as well as those from rural and remote areas of the state. Mrs Skinner said thousands of retinal and corneal treatments would be delivered each year in the new multi-million dollar facility, benefiting many patients with potentially blinding medical conditions.

“Over the past 20 years there have been extraordinary technical improvements in the assessment and treatment of eye outpatients,” Mrs Skinner said.

“Our task is to keep up with these advances and I’m proud of the investment made in this facility to ensure eye outpatients have the very best, modern care.

“The Bicentennial Eye Clinic includes dedicated retinal and corneal clinics in a purpose-built unit with state-of the-art diagnostic and therapeutic equipment.

“As a result, patients can now have their consultations, tests and treatment all in the one place. It will become a one-stop shop for eye care.

“The clinic has the latest in corneal and retinal imaging equipment – including corneal confocal microscopy and macular optical coherence tomography – as well as corneal crosslinking and retinal laser treatments,” Mrs Skinner said.

This comes as good news for patients with disease of the retina, including the macula, who will be referred to the clinic by general practitioners, ophthalmologists, optometrists and via emergency departments and clinics.

The establishment of the Bicentennial Eye Clinic has been a collaborative effort between Sydney Hospital/Sydney Eye Hospital, The Sydney Eye Hospital (SEH) Foundation and the Sight For Life Foundation. The SEH Foundation provided $1 million, the Sight For Life Foundation provided $200,000 and the remainder was funded through hospital funds.

Sydney Hospital/Sydney Eye Hospital are steeped in history, with a legacy of nursing and medical firsts to their credit. Sydney Hospital is Australia’s first hospital and dates from the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788.

Sydney Hospital has been located at the present site on Macquarie Street since 1811, with 2011 marking its milestone of 200 years.

This opening of this hospital marks as a good news for the people in Sydney and Australia.