A £2,400 donation from Ryedale Lions Club has helped improve comfort and care for in-patients at York’s St Leonard’s Hospice.

The hospice, which serves users from the Ryedale area, has equipped a room with a high-tech mattress, which automatically changes a patient’s position in bed, reducing the risk of bed sores and increasing comfort.

“We are very grateful for the support of the Lions Club in making this purchase,” said Kathryn Craven, St Leonard’s community fundraiser. “Maintaining and improving patient quality of life is at the heart of what we do in the hospice and this kind of equipment is a real boon for patients.”

Frank Hayward of Ryedale Lions Club said: St Leonard’s, based in Tadcaster Road, York, is an independent charity and provides palliative care and support for more than 1,500 patients and their families a year, including many from across Ryedale.

“St Leonard’s role in caring for our local residents with life-limiting illnesses, not only cancer, is perhaps not so well-known in Ryedale. But it is a vital part of our local health service which we are very happy to support.”

The donation was funded from a legacy left to the Lions by Alan Smith of Great Edstone.