Sick Kids: 'Fundamental aims must not be forgotten'

This newspaper has been backing the campaign, believing that children in Lothian – and in many cases, from beyond this region – deserve nothing less than the best possible care when they fall ill.

The money being raised for the New Pyjamas was supposed to be for equipment and items which would not normally come from NHS funds. Those extras, it was hoped, would be what would make the new hospital at Little France one of the best in the world.

Our revelations – of the suspension of the campaign director, the resignation of its chairman and an NHS Lothian probe into the whole mess – has not changed the need to create such a top-of-the-range facility here in Edinburgh.

Our sick children will still need the drop-in centre that was a key pledge by those behind the original appeal. Their families will still need accommodation at the hospital so they can be by their sons' and daughters' bedsides at their time of greatest need.

That is why the fundamental aims of the New Pyjamas campaign must not be forgotten or lost, just because the appeal itself has become mired in controversy.

And that is why the health board probe must be a speedy one, and followed immediately by a plan to rescue the appeal, presumably in new, safe hands.

We at the Evening News will get right behind such a revived campaign – and we are sure that the people of Edinburgh will too.

Price worth paying

DEMAND for allotments in Edinburgh has always outstripped availability, so moves to close this gap are not only welcome but are also long overdue.

Last year, the council announced it was to have a strategic review of its allotment policy as the waiting list for plots swelled to more than 2,000.

It has now identified 29 sites in the city which could provide enough land to satisfy current demand. And while this is unlikely to happen in the near future, it is at least a start and hopefully some of these derelict areas can quickly be utilised for a worthwhile community purpose.

Of course, current allotment owners and prospective owners will be asked to pay more to allow this to happen. But for many enthusiasts, who currently pay just over 1 a week in rental, this will be a price well worth paying.