Finsbury eye hospital seeks views on plan to relocate

Moorfields Eye Hospital wants to know what people think about its plans to move to King’s Cross.

The hospital has been in the same building in Old Street since 1899, but is considering a move west to a site near Euston Road.

The foundation trust that runs the hospital want to find out the views of residents and has opened an “engagement exercise” which runs until February 14.

John Pelly, chief executive of Moorfields, said: “Our City Road hospital building is more than 100 years old and is no longer suited for 21st century clinical care.

“It is also growing increasingly costly to maintain, so we need to find an alternative.

“At present, we believe that our best option for realising our joint vision with our research partners at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology – to provide a truly integrated, modern healthcare, research and education facility – is to move to the King’s Cross/Euston area. We are looking at several sites in that area, each of which has advantages and disadvantages, and this engagement exercise seeks to establish a prioritised list of the criteria we should consider in making a final decision about which one to select.

“It is important to stress that this engagement exercise is not about changing the services we provide; wherever we are based, we will continue to offer high-quality clinical care, research and education in a central London location, supported by a network of satellite locations in and around the capital, just as we do now.”

Two drop-in sessions will be held at the hospital to answer questions, today (Thursday) and on January 24, from 10am to 6pm.

n For more information go to www.moorfields.nhs.uk or call 020 7253 3411.