Published on: 17 October 2025
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust is inviting patients, staff and the local community to get creative this festive season by designing a Christmas Card.
This December will mark the final Christmas at the current Sunderland Eye Infirmary site. The Trust wants to commemorate this milestone in a special way and is calling on the public’s creativity to design a digital Christmas card for staff at Sunderland Eye Infirmary.
From doodles to digital art, or a festive photo with twinkling lights, whatever your vision, you can make your mark on SEI’s history this Christmas.
Deadline for submissions: Wednesday, 12 November 2025.
Send your designs to: stsft.trustcomms@nhs.net
The winning entry will be used as the official Sunderland Eye Infirmary Christmas card which will be sent to staff.
Carol Jobling is Matron at Sunderland Eye Infirmary. She said: “This competition is a wonderful way to bring some festive joy to our staff and showcase the creativity of our community. It’s a keepsake that our staff will be able to keep for years to come. We’re looking forward to seeing the imaginative designs people come up with.”
There are just nine months to go until the new Eye Hospital opens its doors. It will house the Trust’s leading Cataract Treatment Centre which is one of the biggest services of its kind in the country.
It carries out up to 7,000 cataract operations a year using the current two theatres at Sunderland Eye Infirmary. With a third theatre being added to the new facility, this provides the opportunity to speed up access to care even further.
Other key features of the new three-story Eye Hospital include:
- A 24/7 Emergency Department for eye injuries and emergencies
- A Retina Unit for macular conditions
- A Surgical Day Unit
- Imaging Hub and Outpatients Department
- Children’s Outpatient facilities
- Operating theatres
To support the Trust’s ambition to remain at the forefront of innovation in eye care, its STS Charity has also launched the ‘Vision Appeal’. This is a campaign to raise £1 million for cutting-edge equipment and technology beyond the core build.
This includes ocular motility analysers, advanced visual field-testing equipment, and motorised adjustable examination chairs. These technologies ensure patients benefit from the very latest in diagnostic and treatment capabilities.
Set to welcome its first patients in summer 2026, the facility remains on track for completion in spring next year.
