[Margaret Pilkington]

Anyone with half an eye and only a quarter of a brain could see that this form of finance was going to be trouble........and for a long time to come.
If we can't afford something then there are other alternatives to funding it.
Many of the cottage hospitals were funded by public subscriptions........yes, I know that it takes time to raise funds for such huge items of expenditure.........didn't the local population fund the MRI scanner.
I know my own unit raised funds for a baby scanner.
This kind of fund raising brings communities together to fulfil a need, and so the good that it does is not just financial.......it leads to community cohesion, and a shared identity.