Campaign aims to give new Sick Kids hospital £15m cash injection

Published on Saturday 28 February 2009 18:48

A MAJOR fundraising campaign was launched last night to raise £15m towards a new Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.

The pyjamas campaign aims to raise funds for equipment and services for the new hospital, planned for 2012. The Sick Kids will be a purpose-built modern facility beside the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

The current Victorian building in Edinburgh city centre is seen as outdated and not fit for the purposes of a state-of-the art hospital.

The Scottish Government is contributing 50m of public money towards the new build.

But the extra cash raised by the campaign will be used to buy more equipment not provided by standard NHS budgets, to help make the hospital one of the leading paediatric units in the world, as well as other items not included in the Government funds, such as toys and additional educational equipment.

Television presenter and interior designer John Amabile, who has become a campaign ambassador, said yesterday: "I was a sick kid myself, born prematurely and needing emergency surgery to save my life. If it was not for the specialist knowledge of surgeons and nursing staff who work in paediatric medicine, I would not be here today.

"I'm supporting the new pyjamas campaign because I want every child in Scotland to have access to the very best paediatric treatment and care, which is what the new Sick Kids hospital will provide."

Elaine McGonigle, director of the new pyjamas campaign, said: "This is possibly the most demanding and, at the same time, exciting campaign to have been launched in Scotland for many years."

The campaign has launched a social networking site on to the fundraising website, www.newpyjamas.org. Those who register can set up personal profiles and discussion groups, while the new pyjamas campaign will be able to contact potential supporters.

The campaign is part of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation.