THE Evening Press Guardian Angels appeal aims to transform high-dependency care on York Hospital's children's ward.

We need your money to fund two life-saving high-dependency rooms with new, specialised equipment.

This unit would be the first of its kind in the region that could deal with youngsters arriving as emergencies.

These children could be suffering from illnesses including meningitis, septicaemia, breathing difficulties, viral chest infections, obstructions of the voicebox, severe asthma, bronchiolitis, convulsions or coma and physical injury. A specialist nurse will care solely for these high-dependency children and other staff will be trained to get the most out of the improvements.

Children would have immediate access to the right treatment instead of waiting for ventilators and monitors to be taken from other patients.

This major investment in care for children in York, North and East Yorkshire would help also keep patients' health care closer to home and family, minimising distressing transfers to intensive care units elsewhere.

Currently, children needing high-dependency care use a room opposite the nurses' station.

Monitors and other equipment are brought in from elsewhere, sometimes being taken from other children who are less poorly.

If they need intensive care, they are taken to an operating theatre block or to the Accident and Emergency unit to wait for a transfer to Leeds or further afield.

Logistics mean they can be waiting from two to six hours.

Children could need high-dependency care from between four to 48 hours

They are given the best care possible with the facilities available, but with your help, we could make it better.

Updated: 10:18 Saturday, October 15, 2005