Ref. 29366-21Since the Evolution Appeal was started in 2001, £2m has been raised to buy equipment for the Great Western Hospital. Now people can play a part by supporting the Leaf Your Mark campaign. ALEX EMERY reports

A WALL of leaves is generating cash and good feelings at Swindon's Great Western Hospital.

Leaf Your Mark is a unique scheme to help bring in money for the GWH while providing an opportunity to commemorate an important event, remember a loved one or simply say thank you.

Scores of colourful leaves of three different sizes deck the corridor wall on the ground floor.

Leaf Your Mark is part of the Evolution Appeal, the ongoing fundraising drive that raises cash for new hospital equipment.

Initially, the appeal aimed to raise £5m by the time equipment and staff at the former Princess Margaret Hospital, in Okus, transferred to the new site at Commonhead in December 2002.

But the target was reduced to £2.5m following an £8m contribution from the Government.

Chris Birdsall, GWH spokesman, said that the appeal has so far raised just under £2m.

He said: "Evolution is continuing for the time being with the Leaf Your Mark campaign.

"We would like to say an enormous thank you to all the people from the Swindon area for raising so much money. We have been able to buy some important pieces of equipment, which have enhanced the care we are able to give at the Great Western Hospital.

"The money has enabled us to buy the latest up-to-date equipment for the country's newest hospital and local people certainly came up trumps."

The shopping list of equipment already bought includes:

Ceiling mounted X-ray system in casualty £46,161

Ultrasound equipment in cardiology £134,875

Ultrasound equipment in the delivery suite £62,028

Incubators and ventilators at the Special Care Baby Unit £107,806

Resuscitation units in the delivery suite £97,052

Examination units in audiology and Ear Nose Throat £34,000

Ultrasound systems in radiology £243,742

Director of the radiology department, Dr Alf Troughton, said: "We are very pleased with this welcome addition to the X-ray department, which has a very nice environment.

"But for it to work to its full potential we needed new equipment and this ultrasound machinery has enabled us to bring waiting lists down to one of the lowest in the region.

"Patients now only wait six weeks for a routine ultrasound appointment.

"We are very pleased the people of Swindon and surrounding areas have been so generous."

It is one of only a handful of radiology departments in the UK to use a Picture Archiving and Communication System, which has replaced the traditional method of using plastic film to look at patients' X-rays.

The computerised format means images are stored in the computer and are available within a minute for doctors to view. There are no lost X-rays and the system will save the department £250,000 a year on film.

The £135,000 cardiac ultrasound unit produces images of the heart muscle to allow specialists to quickly and accurately diagnose heart problems.

It allows checks to be made for abnormalities such as enlargement of the chambers, leakage or other problems.

The money was raised thanks to a host of fundraising events held across the borough.

The biggest donation came from Nationwide. The Swindon-based building society donated £359,000 to the appeal.

Andrew Litchfield, head of social and environmental responsibility, said: "Nationwide Building Society was delighted to support the Great Western Hospital.

"The GWH is a fine example of modern and effective welfare infrastructure which helps us to attract and retain staff and improves the quality of life of our employees, their families and of course the community as a whole.

"To show how important the new hospital is to Nationwide we conducted some light-hearted research.

"Astonishingly we estimated that each year Nationwide employees and their families will provide the hospital with the following 'customers':

"6,000 outpatients, 75 inpatients, 420 day cases, 4,530 X-rays, 1,710 visitors to Accident and Emergency, 750 physiotherapy patients and 120 Nationwide babies."

Last year a group of Great Western Hospital staff were among 49 volunteers who walked part of the Great Wall of China to raise money for the appeal.

The challenge saw the group walk along a 60km stretch of the wall, from Huangyagguan to Jurongguan.

More than £50,000 was raised, which was divided between the Evolution Appeal and the GWR Community Trust, which aims to support good causes in the Swindon area.

Last February students from the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester raised £4,000 for Evolution during their annual Rag Week.

In October 2002 almost £4,000 was raised at a charity auction at the Dick Lovett Porsche centre in West Swindon when a host of motoring memorabilia and car parts went under the hammer.

In August 2002 proceeds from an open day at Manton, one of the country's top horse racing centres, raised £17,000.

The event included horse racing, helicopter rides, ferret racing and falconry displays.

And in November 2002 a dinner and auction in memory of Swindon schoolgirl Inderjeet Bharaj, who died of an asthma attack, raised £11,000.

How to Leaf Your Mark: You can make a single donation to the appeal (by cash, cheque, Switch, Visa or Mastercard) or pay by standing order.

Small leaves cost £25, medium leaves cost £100, and large are available for a £500 donation. You may select your own wording using up to 40 characters for each leaf.

Your leaf will then become a permanent part of the decoration in the ground floor corridor of the Great Western Hospital.

For more information call the hospital on 01793 604020.

Alex Emery