The news follows the trust being awarded over half a million pounds from the NHS Energy Efficiency Fund (NEEF) which will be used for LED lighting upgrades and to install solar panels.

The funds will also cover upgrades to building management systems to better control heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

Alan Bean, trust sustainability programme manager, who secured the funding, said: ‘The electricity generated by the solar systems will be roughly the same amount used in 518 homes.

‘Overall, we will reduce the electricity we buy from the grid by about 30%. This will save hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

‘The cost savings could be used to improve patient care or fund other carbon reduction projects. This is a key moment in our efforts to achieve healthier outcomes for people, the planet and pounds. That is the vision for our Net Zero programme.'

The sites to benefit are: Bodmin Community Hospital; Liskeard Community Hospital; Longreach House at Redruth; Camborne Health Office; Bellair Health Office at Penzance; Camborne Redruth Community Hospital; Falmouth Community Hospital; Helston Community Hospital; Launceston Community Hospital; St Barnabas Community Hospital at Saltash; and Stratton Community Hospital.