A campaign to buy equipment to help train future eye doctors in Uganda is being spearheaded by staff at the Royal Free Hospital.

The Trust hopes to raise �4,000 to buy a teaching attachment for a microscope used in an operating theatre at the Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda.

The technology will help the country better train its eye doctors.

A fundraising event will be hosted in the hospital’s atrium on Pond Street in Hampstead next Thursday (November 3).

“This piece of equipment is something taken for granted in the UK,” said consultant ophthalmologist Clare Davey, who initiated the link with Uganda and runs the UK side of the project.

“In Uganda, the equipment simply doesn’t exist which means that students are unable to see when surgery is performed, and surgeons are not able to see what their students are doing.

“This is potentially detrimental to the training of eye doctors.”

Money will be raised through an auction, with items on offer including a signed Arsenal shirt, theatre tickets, and a spa experience for two at The Hilton hotel in Park Lane.

There will also be a raffle and visitors will be able to have a variety of eye tests and to try on glasses that simulate eye conditions.

The event also aims to raise awareness of Vision 2020: The Right to Sight, a worldwide campaign to end avoidable blindness by the year 2020.

The Royal Free’s ophthalmology team has been involved with Vision 2020 since 2008 and staff regularly donate free time working in exchange programs to train doctors and provide treatment at the hospital in Mulago.

Ugandan High Commissioner Joan Rwabyomere will attend the charity event and music will be provided by Seby Ntege, a Ugandan musician.

“I hope the event will be a huge success, and we can raise the money to buy the equipment to help prevent future sight loss for the people in Uganda,” said Dr Davey.

If you would like to attend, contact julia.rhodes@nhs.net