Archbishop wings in

"People should dig deep in their pockets and support the appeal," declared Dr John Sentamu.

And he put his money where his mouth was by offering Bishopthorpe Palace as a potential venue for a suitable fundraising event.

He spoke out in support of the aims of the Guardian Angels appeal, launched by The Press, which aims to raise £300,000 to transform high-dependency paediatric care on the children's ward by funding two lifesaving high-dependency rooms with new, specialised equipment.

He said it was good that the unit will allow sick children to stay in their home city instead of being transferred to such hospitals elsewhere, as currently happens.

Dr Sentamu was speaking during his first official visit to York Hospital since becoming Archbishop last autumn.

His whirlwind tour included accident and emergency, the new ENT department, some older wards and a children's ward, where he met patients such as 19-month-old Maci-Jo Fillingham, from Dringhouses, who was suffering from a chest infection.

Jill Crampton, matron of children's services, was delighted by his offer of the palace to help the appeal, and said it might be taken up by staging something such as a garden party in the grounds.

The Archbishop also praised the quality of care given by staff to patients of the new ENT unit, and called for similar improvements to be carried out on other older wards elsewhere.

"I think the ENT ward is amazing," he said. "I hope it's a sign of things to come in older wards elsewhere in the hospital, such as ward three."

He also echoed comments made the previous day by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, about the NHS. Dr Williams spoke during a sermon at Westminster Abbey about the NHS's obsession with targets and the need for it to respect patients' individual needs.

Dr Sentamu said hospitals were not about targets but about caring for patients.

"This is not a factory where goods are produced, and it's not a retail shop where money is made."