Helston Community Hospital now has a computer tablet thanks to the volunteers of its patient trolley shop.

Presented to the speech and language therapy team by Mrs Mary Charnock, one of the volunteers running the patient trolley shop, the Apple iPad has been described as “invaluable” in assessing and treating patients with a wide range of communication difficulties, such as those who have had strokes or are suffering from Parkinson’s.

The iPad will come with special user-friendly communication software and a robust, easy to clean case, suitable for hospital use. Around 30 speech and language therapy patients will benefit from the donation.

Emma Farr, speech and language therapist at Helston Community Hospital, said: “Funds for the iPad were kindly donated by Mrs Charnock from the proceeds of the patient trolley shop at Helston Community Hospital.

"The iPad is a wonderful contribution to the department and I would like to wholeheartedly thank Mrs Charnock and her team for the very kind donation.”

Mrs Charnock said: “We are pleased to be able to provide such a valuable service to patients and staff. We try to get anything that patients request whilst they are in the hospital that may make their stay more comfortable or help them whilst attending any services.

"We run as a non-profit and volunteer service and we are pleased to be able to donate proceeds to the hospital. We look forward to hearing how well patients are benefitting from using the iPad.”