An 18-month-old girl is able to hear for the first time after medics became the first in the country to switch on a cochlear implant remotely because of coronavirus restrictions.
Audiologists at the University of Southampton set up a link-up over the internet in order to allow the device to be turned on for Margarida Cibrao-Roque despite their clinic being closed to patients.
Professor Helen Cullington, of the university's auditory implant service, conducted the switch-on from her home linking remotely with Margarida's parents at their home in Camberley, Surrey.
She said: "Usually we do the switch-on of a cochlear implant at our clinic at the university but, with some technical creativity and some advice from colleagues in Australia, we