Nurse unhappy with leaf appeal

In Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust's 'leaf your mark' initiative, well wishers will be able to pay for a leaf design and a short message which will become a permanent feature of the building.

There are three different sized designs, costing either £25, £100 or £500, with the proceeds going to the Evolution Appeal, which aims to help equip the hospital.

The trust's 3,500 staff are being encouraged by their bosses to spread the word about the scheme but not all of the workers are happy about the management's latest bid to raise money.

An anonymous letter sent to the Evening Advertiser, whose author claims to be a nurse, criticised the plan, claiming: "Not only do they want staff to work around the clock, they want their wages as well."

But Evolution campaign director Iain McMullan said: "There is no question of forcing staff to take part at all. It is purely voluntary.

"Our staff often get approached by grateful patients asking what they can do for the hospital in return.

"We wanted to let staff know about this scheme so they can let other people know."

And communications manager Chris Birdsall said: "It is a shame that a member of staff seems to have got the wrong idea. People working for the trust would be put out if we did not let them know what was going on, and our staff are also members of the public.

"This is an important campaign to ensure that the new hospital is equipped with the very best equipment, and this is a good way to encourage the involvement of the wider community."

The Evolution campaign aims to gather £5 million for the new hospital, which is due to open in November.

The Government has allocated £8 million to the fund, and the trust has provided £2 million from its own reserves.

But now the trust is appealing to businesses and individuals for donations.

Since its launch in September last year, the appeal has raised £1,300,000 of its £5 million target.