A memorial fund set up by hospital workers in memory of one of their colleagues has raised £8,690.

Karen Booth, a neonatal nurse consultant, died at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton after a sudden illness just over a year ago.

Miss Booth, 41, had worked at the hospital's Trevor Mann Baby Unit since 1992.

When she was made consultant, Miss Booth had a vision of developing a team of specialist neonatal nurses.

The Karen Booth Memorial Foundation was set up to support nurses training for the posts.

money was raised throughout the year with a series of fund-raising events including an aerobathon at the David Lloyd Fitness Centre in Brighton.

The event was organised by aerobics instructor Helen Sheppard, whose premature son was treated at the unit.

The money is already helping three nurses with their training by supplying cash for course materials, books and travel.

A hospital spokesman said without the fund the nurses would not have been able to attend the course.

A hospice has been given a £4,000 boost to buy specialist equipment.

Staff at The Martlets Hospice in Hove will now be able to buy a hoist for their in-patient unit.

The hoist will make it easier for staff to help seriously ill patients get in and out of bed.

The money was donated by the HSA Charitable Trust, which is responsible for distributing donations made by healthcare planners HSA.

The in-patient unit has a capacity for 18 patients who receive 24-hour care.

Since the hospice opened in 1997, more than 1,500 people have been nursed at the unit.

Gary Moyle, trusts fund-raiser at the Martlets, said: "The hoist is important for our patients who are too weak to move themselves. We are very grateful."