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Recycling aids?

Posted , 20 users are following.

melody39324
melody39324

I want to get rid of my crutches and toilet seat raiser now I no longer need them. Does anyone in the UK know what you can do with them? In this age of recycking I imagine there may be overseas charities that would use them. As you get them on the NHS I don’t think local charity shops would be interested.

2 likes, 25 replies

25 Replies

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  • m05
    m05 melody39324

    Posted

    I know what you mean I am approaching that stage however something inside me says pop them in the loft you never know perhaps I am just pessimistic but it might not be easy to get hold of them quickly and easily again in the future if needed.
  • penny08987
    penny08987 melody39324

    Posted

    The hospital takes them back, they have a used card usually hanging around outside physio people can help them self's. No charity don't take toilet raisers as far as I know however age UK might?

  • brenda92532
    brenda92532 melody39324

    Posted

    I contacted the rehabilitation centre who provided them.  They came and fetched them back.

     

    • AlexandriaGizmo
      AlexandriaGizmo brenda92532

      Posted

      Really glad that's the way you emptied your home of them, some people actually sell them or put them on Freecycle which is not the correct way to dispose of them, if you don't have a contact number ring social services and ask for occupational therapist office they will arrange collection or like you sensibly did, non returned items cost the NHS thousands every year as these items have to be purchased over again, if their returned they are cleaned and sterilised and loaned out again.

      If ever you need to be issued with an aid just go back to your occupational therapist and explain what you need.

  • jen86183
    jen86183 melody39324

    Posted

    Melody,

    Did you buy them all yourself? I will have give the crutches back to the physio department of the hospital and everything else to the company that supplied them on behalf of the hospital. If you bought them you can always sell them or donate them.

    • melody39324
      melody39324 jen86183

      Posted

      They were supplied free by the hospital. As far as I am aware all NHS patients get these free. I will ask the hospital if they want them back but it’s strange they don’t give you any information about what to do with them afterwards.
    • jen86183
      jen86183 melody39324

      Posted

      When my equipment was delivered they said kept them as long as you need then call us to have them collected I have a delivery note with them. The hospital gave me the crutches, he gave me 3 to keep one upstairs, so I will take them back there when I am finished with them.
  • Guest
    Guest melody39324

    Posted

    They should be taken back to the hospital you had them from. They were on loan to you after all. They will get cleaned up and recycled again. 
  • jomary
    jomary melody39324

    Posted

    I have heard that for some items it costs more to collect and sterilise, however my friend who had double THR 3 months ago has just been contacted and asked to return items. - by the way she walked 8 miles last week on holiday when I went elsewhere for the day!.  I had private half knee replacement and was glad I kept crutches and loo seat which were useful for  THR . Most areas have a Freecycle branch now but if you can keep crutches in the corner of a wardrobe it is worth having them for emergencies that you hope won't happen to you or a friend.e.g. sprained ankle.

     

  • anne26948
    anne26948 melody39324

    Posted

    I found a number on the internet of a local charity that took them
  • vanessa24815
    vanessa24815 melody39324

    Posted

    If you got them from the hospital as part of the discharge service they belong to the nhs so you can ring and get them picked up - I am still using crutches and the loo seat but they came and collected the zimmer and wash seat as I didn’t need them. There should have been a number on the paperwork that came with the delivery.
  • laura15323
    laura15323 melody39324

    Posted

    I have been told by the hospital that although they will re-cycle the crutches,they do not re-cycle any toilet aids.They say this is because of hygiene rules.

     

    • maggie93798
      maggie93798 laura15323

      Posted

      In my area The toilet aids are decontaminated for use by  the company who act on behalf of the NHS. This is to the same standard as reusable equipment within the hospital such as commodes etc
  • miriamal49
    miriamal49 melody39324

    Posted

    I’m glad I didn’t get rid of them when I thought I wasn’t going to need them anymore.  4 yrs after my left hip surgery I ended having a revision surgery so I ended up using them again. You never know what’s going to happen down the road.
  • faye4342
    faye4342 melody39324

    Posted

    Here in Canada we can donate them to the Red Cross. They in return loan them out for 3 months to people who don’t wish or can’t afford to buy them. Great idea.
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