HOSPITAL chiefs have denied equipment bought through a £1 million appeal, has been given away.

Queen Mary's hospital, Sidcup, brought in a professional fundraiser to run the Heartbeat Appeal, which aimed to raise £1 million in 12 months in 1994.

The cash was needed to buy state-of-the-art equipment for the hospital's cardiology department.

But rumours have surfaced that the equipment has now been given away to other hospitals.

There was also a suggestion that one piece of equipment, a nuclear gamma camera, was never bought, even though the cash was raised for it.

On Monday the hospital issued a statement categorically denying the equipment had left the hospital.

A spokesman said: "The Heartbeat Appeal raised a great deal of money to enable us to buy cardiology equipment for Queen Mary's hospital. Acute cardiology services will continue to be provided from Queen Mary's hospital and any equipment bought with Heartbeat Appeal money will remain at Queen Mary's."

The hospital does admit that the nuclear gamma camera was never bought.

"Unfortunately, although the generosity of the public meant there was enough money from the appeal for the camera, there were insufficient funds to develop the necessary services to house and use the camera as recommended by the radiological protection advisors in the region," it said.

The cash is still being held by the trust which runs Queen Mary's and a group of clinical staff is now looking at suitable alternative investigative equipment to buy with it.

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