Effectively this money means there has been no increase from the amount we were given last year

Dr Charles Stack, Paediatric Intensive Care Society

And ministers have not yet revealed what will happen now a �45m fund for children's critical care, created in 1997, has all been spent.

And the announcement comes less than 48 hours before the publication of a report into intensive care for newborn babies which is expected to highlight a growing crisis.

Most of the money for paediatric intensive care is to be spent on further developing specialist centres and training staff.

Health Secretary Alan Milburn announced in May that �150m would be spent on critical care beds for adults.

�45m fund

Junior minister Gisela Stuart spoke about the investment during a visit to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital on Wednesday.

She said: "No patient is more vulnerable or more the cause of worry and concern to loved ones that a critically-ill child.

"Parents want the best possible treatment for their children and to know that it is being delivered by highly trained staff working with the most advanced equipment."

Parents want the best possible treatment for their children and to know that it is being delivered by highly trained staff

Gisela Stuart, Health Minister

Paediatric intensive care in the NHS was heavily criticised in a report published in 1997, which led to a �45m investment to create several specialist centres.

This has been drip-fed into the service over the past few years - the �15m is the final tranche of this money.

Approximately �9m of it will help continue the development of these "lead centres", and another �2.7m will be spent to improve methods of getting children to the centres when their lives are in peril.

Almost �3m more will be spent training nurses and others in specialist skills, with �500,000 going to buy more resuscitation equipment for local hospitals.

Dr Charles Stack, a paediatric intensive care expert from Sheffield Children's Hospital, and secretary of the Paediatric Intensive Care Society, said that the money had made a difference over the four year period.

But he added: "There is still a long way to go. Effectively this money means there has been no increase from the amount we were given last year."

Ministers have also invested �5m in intensive care for newborn babies, but a census published in the British Medical Journal on Friday is expected to say that there are still far too few cots available nationwide.