NHS Waste of money and resources

Our equipment comes from NRS here (Nottingham Rehab Supplies). I had 3 different shower chairs in my garage at one point that I could not get them to take back(one I must have had for at least 8 years!) They eventually did agree to take them but the driver said they would likely be dumped - shocking really as they were perfectly useable but just not suitable for our particular needs. I asked the nurses if the wards at the hospital would like them (theirs were very very basic models and these were much nicer) but she said they wouldn’t be allowed to. Terrible waste.

'Look after the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves'. Why spend money replacing equipment of any sort when it can be re used?

IMO this is an example of financial waste.

Off the point slightly, we are trying to sell my Mum's very expensive wheelchair. They cost over £2000 new and this has been used very little. Cannot even get an offer on eBay! Is it the same issue of not wanting to reuse I wonder?

In central Scotland we have a company called equipU who provide and collect aids to daily living that have been requested by the patients care team. You phone their number when you are finished with the item and they come. They scrub and sterilise the equipment to a very high standard making them look like new. The service covers 6 councils plus Greater Glasgow and the Clyde Valley.

Is there a Disability Partnership in your area Gill? Here in Cheshire the wonderful people at the charity recycle and make very good use of donated aids. (They also run a beautiful walled garden site selling plants, handicrafts, upcycled furniture and even brilliant, restored bikes - my old neighbour, a retired engineer, gives his time and energy to the restorations). Not saving the NHS any money but at least it's something very positive and useful coming out of a bonkers, wasteful policy. And why can't the equipment be refurbished and tested similar to the pat testing for used electrical goods then there would be no negligence issues/claims?

The Red Cross might be grateful for them.

Millbrook Healthcare have a campaign going relevant to this: www.millbrook-healthcare.co.uk/useful-stuff/service-users/equipment-return/

I think many hospitals have a special equipment department, separate from the hospital, that loans out wheelchairs etc. It's not the actual ward / hospital. They probably didn't want it at the hospital but didn't direct you to the proper department. We returned our mothers equipment successfully, to two different hospital trusts as she moved in with up with some 'equipment'.

When I came home after 5 weeks in Hospital with Pneumonia I was provided with a raised toilet seat & shower stool. Other equipment was brought which was not suitable for my small home. All was provided by the local Hospital & I was informed that I could not return any items even if they were unused. I could not have a "perching stool" or a "wheeled trolley", as these could not be used the OT took them back to the Hospital with her.

I did return a zimmer frame to a Hospital many years ago. It does vary from area to area & also which organisation supplies the aids.

Same her when my mum died we were told to take items to the tip.

The NHS does waste an awful lot of money. It would seem impossible that recycling is too expensive, but it depends on which budget the cost come from. That is one problem, there is no overall planning, everything is very short term.

After my replacement hip, I took back to the hospital where I was treated, my walking frame and hospital walking stick, both of which were received with gratitude. My other equipment was not required, so I've put them away for a later date!!!!!

I borrowed aids from a neighbour who had also undergone hip replacement surgery; except for a wheeled trolley for transporting my meals from the kitchen. That came from local Social Services who came and took it back. I am sure it wasn't new because it showed signs of wear and I hope it went on to be reused many times.

Lazigirl ???

The aids both my H and I had were not on loan from anyone.
They were supplied on prescription issued by the hospital and were delivered from the local mobility shop.
It was the driver who delivered them who told me, that after lots of enquiries , they were told used things could not be returned or recycled.

The articles you mention, janea are more expensive to replace; there is a cost benefit to cleaning and reusing them. The medical aids mentioned on this thread are probably cheaper to replace than to clean and refurbish for re-use. (This was pointed out already in this thread)

Though I do wonder if any analysis of costs exists and practice seems to vary between areas.

When I was working many relatives were unaware that aids used by their elderly relatives were actually on loan from the Community Health Store, so in ignorance they off loaded them to charities etc. People are issued with a paperwork stating this at the outset which no doubt gets lost. It is a nonsense that they cannot be sterilised and used again. It is a pity that this sort of thing becomes a focus of wasting tax payers money when our NHS despite being a huge organisation is one of the best and most efficient in the world. Far better to concentrate on the big issues of financial waste ie contracting NHS services to private companies, often who are less efficient and who can hand them back when they do not deliver expected profit.

PS the Charity shops and Red Cross werent prepared to accept the items because of ‘Contamination’ and in case the crutches had been damaged.

My SIL had various pieces of equipment when he had a vehicle accident, when my daughter took them back to the supply centre, she was asked to put it all into the skip apart from the armchair with adjustable legs.
Their skip was full of rusty crutches, walkers and plastic bathroom equipment, when she queried why it was being thrown away they just shrugged. This is in the West Country.

My condolences for the loss of your aunt Gill.

It beggars belief doesn't it that items such as these are thrown away. I was thinking the same as you janeainsworth, so much equipment is re used and with the financial situation our NHS is in, why on earth is perfectly good equipment consigned to the rubbish dump.

After MrA’s hip replacement the numerous aids were supplied by the (county-wide) Community Healthcare Trust and returned to them.
I’m not sure that’s a valid argument -eloethan (I appreciate you were only quoting the article)
Hospitals don’t provide brand new beds or linen for every patient, or trolleys or wheelchairs. They clean/sterilise them and reuse them and check they are fit for purpose. If hospitals are providing equipment for home use they can surely do the same for those items.

Another complex subject presented at the level of a two year old by that bastion of intellectual ability the Daily Mail

Sweeping generalisation Beau?
As many of us have evidenced, in the words of the song
“It ain’t necessarily so”

Two comments at the end of a Daily Mail article relating to this subject perhaps give some explanation as to why many pieces of equipment are not accepted back:

"It's really simple. When the product is new, any liability for injuries caused by failure, lie with the manufacturer. How much would you like the NHS to spend on cleaning, sterilising, stress testing & re-furbishing these items?

"Funny isnt it, You lot would be the first to sue if you fell after a "second hand" crutch broke. Anonymous NHS Buyer".

I think that’s an incredibly unfair ill informed generalisation about the NHS Beau.