THE DEFIANCE of 400 residents who marched against the closure of Wantage Community Hospital may take a blow today.

A second opinion from an expert recruited by Wantage Town Council has backed the decision to close the hospital.

Townsfolk marched through Wantage to the Garston Lane hospital on Saturday morning protesting the closure decision by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

Among the marchers was Karolina Nield from Wantage, who gave birth to her children, Zosia, four, and Archie, two, at the community hospital.

She said: "The support from the Wantage midwifery team is amazing.

"Having a positive childbirth is such an important issue and being able to do that not far from home is vital."

Patricia Hyde, who is in her late 70s and lives in Charlton Heights, said: "I have two daughters and two grandsons born in Wantage Hospital.

"It is too far to travel back and forth to hospitals in Oxford and Wallingford: if you are in labour, you don't want that journey."

The march was organised by the Friends of Wantage Hospital and town councillors who want the hospital to be kept open as long as possible.

But this week an expert recruited by Wantage Town Council who personally examined the building has backed Oxford Health's closure recommendation.

The consultant, who wishes to remain anonymous, agreed with the trust that the hospital's ageing and corroded pipe network increased the risk of a dangerous Legionella bacteria outbreak and that the only solution was to replace the entire plumbing system.

He also agreed with the trust that the safest next step would be to close the hospital to minimise any risk to patients.

Mayor of Wantage Steve Trinder said he was disappointed with the conclusion, but also said it was his understanding that Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) planned to continue running maternity services at the hospital for the foreseeable future.

Oxford Health, which runs the hospital building but allows OUH to run a maternity service there, announced last week it had "offered Wantage Town Council a compromise option" of keeping maternity and physio services open.

Rosalie Wright, senior midwifery manager at OUH said this week: "We are continuing to provide the full range of midwifery services at Wantage Community Hospital including births and antenatal and postnatal care.

"Our priority is safe care for the women and babies, so we are working with Oxford Health and experts to regularly monitor the situation and assess any risks."

Whatever happens in the coming months, Oxford Health is planning to run a county-wide consultation on the future of all Oxfordshire community hospitals starting this autumn which will determine the future of Wantage hospital.