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HEALTH campaigner Val Compton is urging people to get behind her battle to reopen services at Savernake Hospital by pledging money towards her costs.

On Tuesday High Court judge Mr Justice Holman capped her costs at £20,000.

She will have to pay nothing if a judicial review in the High Court in July overturns Wiltshire Primary Care Trust's decisions to close the Minor Injury Unit and the Day Hospital at Savernake last year.

There was a huge public outcry over the closures, which came less than two years after £10million was spent on rebuilding the hospital.

Mrs Compton has been spearheading the legal fight on behalf of Community Action for Savernake Hospital that was set up to oppose the closures.

Barristers Guy Opperman, who was born at Savernake Hospital, and Matthew Gullick are giving their services free to the legal battle.

Mrs Compton, who retired a year ago as a physiotherapist at Savernake, could have faced limitless costs if she lost the case and the judge had not capped her liability at £20,000.

After hearing the news that the maximum costs she faced had been capped, Mrs Compton appealed for help in raising this money.

She said: "The judge is questioning why it is only me bringing this case to court when I am saying I have the whole community behind me and in agreement.

"It would appear he wishes me to prove that the whole community is behind me by raising the sum of £20,000."

She added: "There has been so much support for the case and Guy and Matthew have put in huge amounts of work.

"It would be pretty devastating to see it go to waste at this stage."

Mrs Compton, 60, who lives in the town centre, said she was hoping to get pledges of financial support from townspeople at the Friends of Savernake Hospital annual general meeting on Tuesday, at 7.30pm in the town hall.

Wiltshire PCT's legal costs to date are about £30,000, said Mrs Compton, who could be liable for its fees if she loses her court fight.

She said she was confident that she had a good chance of winning the battle to get the MIU and day hospital re-opened.

Both units have been mothballed pending the outcome of the court hearing.

Mayor of Marlborough Peggy Dow said she was confident that Mrs Compton had "100 per cent support" from the town and that any costs she incurred would be met within the community.

Pledges of support can also be sent via the Gazette office in Kingsbury Street.

8:43am Thursday 24th April 2008

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