Robin Ball is a consultant paediatrician at York Hospital. He told Health Reporter Charlotte Percival how our £300,000 Guardian Angels appeal to create a life-saving children's unit could change high-dependency care in the city.

What is Guardian Angels all about?

We want to upgrade facilities for the sickest children coming into hospital.

Every month, there will be five to ten children who need a high-level of nursing care, who need constant monitoring, treatment and observation of vital signs such as heart rate, breathing, oxygen levels and blood pressure.

Almost all of them will get better with treatment in York.

A small number will have illnesses so serious that they need intensive care, which either means going on a ventilator or other specialist treatment such as kidney dialysis, or major surgery. An even smaller number of children are stabilised, then transferred as soon as they're stable enough to go to Leeds. At the moment these children, even the most ill, receive their care on the ward. We don't have an area with specialised equipment dedicated to the care of very sick children. We also don't have equipment dedicated to their care.

What will it mean?

Lots of advantages!

Equipment would be waiting so children can receive treatment without the delay of obtaining or cleaning equipment between patients; and because the new unit would be separate from the rest of the ward, the chances of cross-infection are greatly reduced.

The children will be in an area where they are having more constant attention from a dedicated nurse.

The sickest children could go straight into a purpose-built area with all the equipment that's needed on hand with no delays in starting treatment. We will be able to more closely monitor whether the child is responding to treatment. If they need intensive care it will mean they can stay on the ward rather than being moved to another part of the hospital.

This extra equipment may save a small number of babies from having to leave York for care.

What will it look like?

Two cubicles - one for babies and one for children aged between 18 months and 16 years - will be converted and supplied with all the equipment we need.

We'll have a facility for sick children which will allow them to have the very best of care very quickly without any compromise.

What do you have at the moment?

For babies, we have an incubator, a ventilator and a monitor with a limited range of functions in a room with very limited space, an insufficient supply of medical gases and no storage space for extra equipment.

Older kids have a room opposite the nurses' station and a monitor with a limited range of functions which can sometimes be used by another patient. We have to decide who needs it most.

How about children who need intensive care?

At the moment, we have a ventilator big enough for babies up to 15 kilos but older children needing ventilation have to go into the operating theatre block or A&E until an intensive care team can come from Leeds, which is far from ideal, and very difficult for patients.

It is a very child-unfriendly way to work and removes the children from the nursing team.

Although the Leeds team come as quickly as they can, it's never less than two hours by the time they've got themselves ready and come over here. If they have to come from Manchester it can be two to four hours or worse - perhaps six hours.

If we had a ventilator and all the plumbing and plugs in place then they could receive their intensive care here until the Leeds team arrive.

What kinds of illnesses will be treated?

A whole range of illnesses, including meningitis, septicaemia, breathing difficulties, viral chest infections, obstructions of the voicebox, severe asthma, bronchiolitis, convulsions or coma and trauma (physical injury).

Will it save lives?

It will be a life-saving unit. Standards of care in the hospital are high, but this will make things even better.

Will staff get extra training?

Part of the package will be training. The nurse will provide training and arrange for nurses to go on study days.

Why should readers support the Guardian Angels campaign?

This will make a great difference to the care of the most ill children in York.

It will be a great reassurance to parents of these sick children that they're able to get the very best care for their children. It's always a very anxious time when your child is ill and comes into hospital.

Updated: 09:58 Wednesday, October 12, 2005