A Formula 1 journalist and broadcaster who grew up in Somerset has raised more than £7,500 for the League of Friends of Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, running the London Marathon. Chris Medland (37) was moved to support the charity following the death of his mother Jacqueline in the hospital. Chris and his sister were offered the use of Bastable Lodge, a bungalow in the grounds of the hospital, built by the League of Friends for the use of families of critically ill patients. Today Chris said: “My job takes me all over the world on a regular basis and I now live in Wokingham near Reading, but as my mum deteriorated I was able to get back from an F1 race in Azerbaijan and be with her. “On what turned out to be her final night, my family were approached by an amazing support worker who informed us about the bungalow that the League of Friends provides on-site for those with loved ones in the hospital. “It proved to be an absolutely incredible resource for us, as my sister and I could get some sleep and stay close, with mum passing away the following night. “Mum received incredible care at Musgrove throughout her treatment, but the fact that something was made available to us as a family when we needed it most - at no cost at all - was hugely touching, and I wanted to do something to repay League of Friends in some way. So having been lucky enough to gain a ballot place for this year's London Marathon, I planned on fundraising for the charity.” League of Friends President Clinton Rogers said Chris’ efforts were “hugely appreciated”. He added: “Bastable Lodge has benefited so many families over the years and we were so pleased to be able to help Chris and his sister. But what he has done for us in return is extraordinary.” Chris, whose father still lives at Horton, near llminster, had set himself a target of £2,500 but in the end trebled that figure, and money is still coming in. He described the whole day as “incredibly emotional”, and the very next day he was on a plane to Miami to cover another Formula 1 race! He added: “Sadly, in February, my wife and I lost what would have been our first child, and as I had already struggled for training motivation (I ran the marathon the previous year for Macmillan and had been far more committed to training then), I nearly didn't go ahead with running. “But I also wanted to do something to honour both my mum and our little bean, so with just over six weeks to go to the marathon - on March 10 - I resolved to restart training and get the fundraising going. I just wanted to show how massively grateful I am for what the League of Friends provides at Musgrove.”

Musgrove is now only the second hospital of its size in the UK - outside of the large teaching hospitals - to have access to what the NHS describes as "revolutionary" technology for spinal fusion surgery. Spinal fusions are usually carried out for patients with back pain or cancer. Ashok Subramanian, consultant spinal surgeon at Musgrove, said: "We are so grateful to the League of Friends. It is a fabulous donation. This has helped us to perform spinal fusion surgery safely. "We've got only a few millimetres of a safe zone there - and if you miss that it's a risk of injury." Ashok said having the option of robotic surgery will "make a huge difference". "From the surgeon's point of view, we can focus on complex stages of the surgery with a fresher mind because the thinking is done outside the theatre beforehand." Clinton Rogers, President of the League of Friends, said: “Our aim is to invest in equipment which makes a real difference at Musgrove. And this machine certainly fits that bill. We were delighted to support it.” 

The League of Friends of Musgrove Park Hospital has raised close to £1,000 through a collection at Taunton Races on December 30 th . League Chairman Nigel Handbury said today: “It was the busiest meet of the year for the racecourse and a fantastic day for us. “We are so grateful to people who gave so generously and to the course itself for allowing us to collect on the day. It means a lot to our charity.” The League of Friends. which is one of the oldest charities in Taunton, set up more than 60 years ago, is currently trying to raise around £1 million to fund and support a specialist robot to assist with spinal surgery at the hospital. League President Clinton Rogers commented: “This is a massive campaign for us and it is so important that we support spinal surgery at the hospital. “This piece of kit is state of the art and Musgrove will be one of only a few hospitals in the UK to have it.” PICTURE ATTACHED (left to right): League of Friends President Clinton Rogers, his wife Joanne, Susan Handbury and League Chairman Nigel Handbury, collecting at the race.