THE LEAGUE OF FRIENDS OF MUSGROVE PARK HOSPITAL HAS GIVEN £835,000 TO BUY A STATE OF THE ART SPINAL SURGERY ROBOT.
May 5, 2026
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.”
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.”
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.
The League of Friends is extremely grateful to Taunton Inner Wheel for choosing us as their nominated charity for the coming year. Our President Clinton Rogers and his wife Joanne attended an "autumn soiree" organised by the group, which raised more than £1,000. What a great start to their year of fundraising! Clinton said: "It was a lovely evening and the joint presidents of Inner Wheel, Margaret Blackaller and Marlene Ewens, made Jo and I feel so welcome. Fundraising is so hard these days and to have the support of Inner Wheel is truly appreciated."
League of Friends Musgrove Park Hospital Annual General Meeting
The League of Friends of Musgrove Park Hospital has just accepted a cheque for £5,000 from the Rotary Club of Taunton Rotary chose the League of Friends as its nominated charity for the past year and the money raised came from various events, including a large quiz evening at Oake Village Hall and providing charity parking for Somerset Cricket Club matches, thanks to waste management company Viridor allowing its site next door to be used on match days. Today Tracey Khodabandehloo, President of the Rotary Club of Taunton for the past year, said: “The Rotary Club of Taunton has a long association with the Musgrove Park Hospital League of Friends, having founded the League in 1959. “I chose the charity in my presidential year due to the fantastic support they continue to provide to patients and families attending the hospital. I’m sure the Rotarians who founded the League of Friends all those years ago would be thrilled to see the legacy they have left.” The donation will go towards proving specialist chairs for use of older, less mobile patients within the hospital. Clinton Rogers, President of the League of Friends, commented: “To have such a generous donation from the charity to which we owe our existence is very special. “Our work simply couldn’t continue without public support, whether it be fund raising or legacies. Charity fund raising gets harder every year so to receive a cheque like this is a huge boost.” To find out more about the work of the League of Friends visit: www.leagueoffriendsmusgrovepark.co.uk ENDS PICTURE CAPTION (left to right): Adrian Prior-Sankey (Rotary Club current President - took over this month), Tracey Khodabandehloo, Rotary President 2024/5, Clinton Rogers, President of the League of Friends, Nigel Handbury, Chairman of the League of Friends and Mike Parsons, Rotary Club Secretary. Further information from Clinton ( Clinton.rogers@btinternet.com ) or 07836 575911
The League of Friends of Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton has given a grant of close to £90,000 to improve and expand eye treatments at the hospital. The League has approved the purchase of two new state of the art slit lamp cameras, which are used to get a clear view of any potential eye damage or disease. Musgrove’s ophthalmology service sees around over 750 patients each week and all these patients require a slit lamp examination. A slit lamp exam is a test that lets an eye care specialist see every part of your eyes — including inside them. It's a common part of a routine eye exam. Today Helen Evans, senior operational manager for ophthalmology at the hospital, said the grant would enable the unit to clear a backlog of cases that has built up since COVID, and also future proof the service. “We were elated on the opportunity of delivering our presentation to the panel, and the generosity of the League of Friends and their continued support to the ophthalmology service. “I can’t thank the League enough as they gave us the opportunity to present to them on what we wanted to spend the money on, and it was fantastic to show them how a slit lamp camera works in practice. “The League has always supported us and this is another example of how they’ve helped us to provide the best possible ophthalmology care at Musgrove.” Clinton Rogers, President of the League of Friends, said: “They put forward a strong case and it is clear this donation will help a lot of patients moving forward. “Our role is to improve services at the hospital and give money for state of the art equipment which perhaps the Hospital Trust might not be able to buy. “We could not do any of this without the amazingly generous support of the public, which we are always so grateful for.” Helen Evans added: “Every patient that comes through an eye clinic will have tests or scans using a slit lamp, as it helps our colleagues to look at the patient’s eyes in greater depth. “With a camera on top of the slit lamp, we’re now able to record those images, so if we need to refer a patient to another hospital for more specialised treatment, we have those vital images that we can send on with them. “Slit lamps have evolved over the years, as ophthalmology has advanced in technology, and it’s now very much about the images we’re able to produce, so this development is so important to us. “It’s a great training tool as well, as the camera gets down to the nitty gritty of every single ophthalmic face-to-face test or scan, which is so useful for colleagues to learn from. “Having this new equipment means we can see even more patients too, as we’ll in effect have two extra slit lamps in our clinic rooms. “Following the COVID-19 pandemic, our waiting times were around 12 months, but we’ve reduced that down to two months, and this will help us to bring them down further. “In our ophthalmology department we’re always looking to see what we can do better and smarter, and that’s something we need to continue as the demand for eye care is ever increasing.” ENDS Further information from Clinton Rogers 07836 575911 or clinton.rogers@btinternet.com PICTURE ABOVE: Rachel Adams, Ophthalmology Outpatients Senior Manager, looking through one of the new cameras, Helen Evans, Senior Operational Manager for Ophthalmology in the background
