With services similar to Stoke Mandeville Hospital's thrift shop those volunteers see the work they do as a way of saying thank you and hope it will go some way to repaying the debt they feel they owe to the hospital.

Speaking to the volunteers it sounds like they offer much more than just a shopping service, they help people in many other ways.

A long stay in a hospital can be depressing, even mind numbing, and the shop is a place where a number of people go to talk to people and get away from it all.

In this capacity alone the shop has relieved the stresses of patients, helping their health of mind which helps towards healing their bodies.

Not only do the patients shop there, but some visit and have a cup of tea and offload their problems.

It's not just members of the public, but staff including nurses and consultants also walk through the door to offload their worries and take a break from the demands of their jobs.

The service will be sorely missed by everyone who has used it.

Promises that hospital bosses will look for a new location offer little consolation for the teams that run the shop.

They see the land around the hospital being sold off so cannot see a new room being provided.

For them having a faceless person decide their service can no longer run is an insult to the hard work they have done over the last 19 years.