Occupational therapy and physiotherapy services provided for under-18s in the Isles of Scilly and Cornwall are to be given a £500,000 boost.

The money, allocated by the NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly primary care trust (PCT), will be used to help more patients under 18 be treated closer to home, as previously they may have had to travel to faraway facilities for these types of therapies.

This may mean that more people working in occupational therapy jobs could be recruited by the PCT, as well as those in physiotherapy jobs; in addition to helping some local schools provide the services required on-site.

These would benefit students, who will also be able to attend the Dolphin Centre at the Royal Cornwall Hospital for their therapy sessions, according to BBC News.

"By working in partnership we will improve access to support, help disable children increase their skills and help to reduce social inequality," said the director of partnership commissioning for the PCT, Antek Lejk.

"This is a fundamental shift of services into more appropriate care settings for children that will ensure they can carry on their lives as normally as possible, by having care delivered to them closer to where they are. This investment will, as a first step, see the special schools becoming a focal point for therapy care, widening eventually to other appropriate settings for children."

Another medical expert who believes the move will benefit local children, Alison Botting, told NHS.UK: "The setting up of community-based hubs where the different aspects of our therapy services are working together with others will help us to provide a much better service for young people."

"The different professionals involved will be able to make sure the care and support they provide is really tailored to the individual needs of each child and their family."