A young boy in school uniform playing with a toy.

Specialist counselling sessions are being provided to help children and young people affected by sight loss at Moorfields thanks to the Masonic Charitable Foundation. The expansion of this vital service at Moorfields is providing children with individual psychological and emotional support.

The challenge

Moorfields sees over 70,000 paediatric patients a year from all over the UK. The anxiety and stress felt by children and young people affected by sight loss can be overwhelming. It can be difficult to cope and we know that early intervention and support can make all the difference.

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70,000

paediatric patients a year

Finding a solution

Thanks to generous support from London Freemasons, we have been able to expand Moorfields’ children’s counselling services. This is helping us to offer counselling therapy to more children and families in need. Crucially, counselling is also being offered to 16-18 year olds, who currently cannot access adult services.

The counsellor is working closely with families and is able to co-ordinate with external agencies including schools and visual impairment services. The sessions are carefully tailored to the age of the child, for example using toys and play to aid conversations with younger patients. 

Children will complete a survey before and after the session to understand their progress, for example their feelings about life, social situations, school and family members.

The impact of counselling can be transformational. We want to meet psychological and emotional needs early on and help children cope and respond to distressing change as a result of sight loss. We are incredibly grateful for the support we have from London Freemasons to support this important work.

Mally Scrutton, paediatric matron at the Richard Desmond Children’s Eye Centre

The grant from London Freemasons comes through the Masonic Charitable Foundation, which is funded by freemasons, their families and friends, from across England and Wales.

The potential

With professional support we are able to offer more support to children and young people in need than ever before thanks to this expanded service. It is only thanks to philanthropic support that we are able to advance these plans for the benefit of children and young people affected by sight loss. We are hugely grateful for the support that is enabling this important work. 

Project Details

Funding scheme

Patient support scheme

Grant holder

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Area(s) of work

Patient experience | Paediatrics

Award level

£78,603

Start date

June 2020

Grant reference

GR001186