ALL power to John Cullimore's elbow and the fingers of his strumming and plucking hands.

The Great Western Hospital surgeon is releasing a CD in aid of the maternity ward and hopes to raise money for foetal heart monitors.

John's efforts are all the more admirable as surgeons are not exactly renowned for having spare time for hobbies.

But while we hope that the CD brings in the cash for the monitors, the crux of the matter is that it is disappointing that money for new equipment still has to come from fundraisers.

Endless health service reorganisations have promised better and better deals for the NHS, while the Government tells us we are getting more and more generous funding.

But hospitals are still, sadly, reliant on the goodwill of local residents and staff doing their bit. We are lucky here that we have such tireless workers who will put in the extra mile to raise money for equipment such as monitors.

Pregnant Symone Merrington, who as a midwife knows about these things, said that the monitors are both reassuring for mums-to-be and can prove vital during labour for keeping track of how the mother and baby are doing.

The increase in birthrates since the move from Princess Margaret Hospital to GWH means that there are not quite enough monitors at the hospital and hundreds of babies will benefit from the ongoing fundraising.

So while Mr Cullimore is to be applauded for the CD which has already brought in £300 it seems that we can still only dream of the time when our hospital has the top-notch gear to go with the top-notch care for Swindon residents.