Falmouth Hospital has reopened its inpatient ward after it was closed in October to allow refurbishment works to take place.

The Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, announced that the ward had reopened on Monday.

The trust said that the closure had allowed an "extensive" programme of work to be carried out safely, including the installation of a new nurse call system for patients, a new fire alarm system and other safety improvements.

Wayne Gummery-Richards, the matron at the hospital, said: "It's a really exciting time to be moving the beds back on Monday and we are delighted the works are now complete.

"Falmouth is a community hospital and I hope the whole community will appreciate the work which has been undertaken to make it better for staff, the community and most importantly our patients. I would like to thank all the staff who worked together to ensure our patients continued to receive the highest standards of care while the refurbishment took place."

While the 24-bed ward was shut, inpatients were relocated to Longreach House on the Camborne and Redruth Community Hospital site.

The minor injury unit, Albert Collins Day Hospital, physiotherapy, outpatient clinics and x-ray continued to operate as usual from Falmouth while the work was undertaken.

The building work was arrange and funded by NHS Property Services who own the hospital.