SICK children in Burnley are set to benefit from a new High Dependency Unit at the hospital.

The new unit will provide specialist care for children who need constant monitoring, but who are one step below the level provided by intensive care.

Children who would be cared for in the HDU are currently looked after on the wards.

The new unit will be set up in the hospital's Deerplay Ward -- its children's unit -- with cash provided from the new Burnley Mayor's fund.

Coun Margaret Lishman has decided to donate money raised through the fund during her year in office to the unit. She said: "Working in the NHS, this is close to my heart and I know how important fund-raising can be in improving facilities. This high dependency room will make a difference for local children and that's what matters. I wanted to do something that would benefit Burnley, and my niece, Jillian Kelly, works as a paediatric nurse in Deerplay ward so I am aware of the need for this facility."

Last year the Mayor's Fund raised £22,000 for charitable causes and Coun Lishman is hoping to raise £20,000 for the new unit. The project will include moving the school room, which serves children who are in hospital for long periods, from a busy part of the ward to a much quieter area.

In its place, and at the hub of this 27-bed ward, the Trust aims to install the one-bed High Dependency Unit.

Christine Kirk, chairman of the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "I am delighted that the mayor has decided to raise funds for children's services at Burnley General Hospital. The High Dependency Unit will be an excellent facility that will enable us to further improve the care we provide to sick children."