Trustees hold talks with Sick Kids' New Pyjamas staff over job losses

Published on Wednesday 17 February 2010 09:01

THE trustees of the charity behind the troubled New Pyjamas campaign have taken the first steps to overhauling the £15 million appeal by consulting staff on redundancies.

The Sick Kids Friends Foundation said it intended to restructure the campaign but remained confident of achieving its fundraising goal.

The charity has begun a formal period of consultation with its ten appeal staff, including suspended director Elaine McGonigle, regarding their future.

The move comes as Ms McGonigle held a "lengthy" meeting with officials from the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, who are investigating the appeal after it spent 500,000 and raised just 60,000.

Sources close to the investigation said Ms McGonigle took a "dossier" of paperwork in a bid to prove she had done nothing wrong.

The source said: "She's clearly been preparing for this and is 100 per cent confident in her own case.

"She feels her paper trail is absolutely watertight and that her documents will show no wrongdoing on her part."

The SKFF said the New Pyjamas appeal could not continue as it had been and needed reformed.

Chairman of the SKFF board of trustees, David Reith, added: "We want to thank the staff who worked on the New Pyjamas campaign for their dedication, effort and hard work. However, it became clear to the trustees that the New Pyjamas campaign would not, under its current structure, meet the targets initially set out.

"We will now consult with staff on the best way to move the campaign forward.

"The SKFF has an outstanding track record in its own right and has raised in excess of 15m in its lifespan, including 1.5m in the past year alone.

"Working in consultation with the New Pyjamas staff, the trustees will restructure the campaign and we are confident we will achieve the targets initially set out."

The charity has been plunged into chaos by the suspension of Ms McGonigle and the resignation of chairman Graeme Millar.

Trustees raised concerns after only 60,000 was raised in 18 months, yet 500,000 was spent.

It emerged last week that Ms McGonigle held a second fundraising job for the Rosslyn Chapel Trust, but was let go after six months after failing to raise a penny.

NHS Lothian chairman Dr Charles Winstanley said: "We have no powers, or intention, to strip the SKFF of its independence. We recognise the important contribution their fundraising has made to the Sick Kids and are working with them to find the best solution for raising funds for our new hospital."