How can I get rid of the Zimmer frame, toilet surround and other paraphernalia

[MrsSchadenfreude]

That the hospital sent home with my DM when she was briefly discharged? The hospital don’t want to know - they said it will have come from an agency, and there will be a label on it. The only label is a bar code - no name of any agency. It seems crazy that we have all of this stuff and no-one seems to care.

Occupational therapy would know or social worker if she had one

Try NRS health care. Locally to me, they have a contract to provide aids at home.
Failing that, offer them locally free.

Did you have any ot home assessment, physio or carers? If so ask them who will collect it. Who delivered it?

Millbrook covers our area, and others.

I had a shit load of this left from my DF advertised it free on FB and got abused.

Left it out for the council to collect in the end cos no one gives a shit

District nurse / health visitor might be able to point you in the right direction.

The equipment will probably have come from either Social Care (usually a local council service or Community based OT or District Nursing Services, not directly from the hospital. Some might even have been loaned from a local branch of the British Red Cross. Often this equipment cannot be cleansed or ‘reconditioned’ locally and therefore cannot be reused for other people, because of the possibility of it malfunctioning and causing injury.

Our local Red Cross hires out equipment- may like a donation?

?

Zimmer frame at least you could just pop it into the local fracture clinic. The other stuff is a bit harder - was it an occupational therapist you spoke to or just the ward? Because OT should be able to tell you.

I had a similar thing after surgery a few years ago. I did actually have a number to call of a place the other side of the county. They wouldn't collect though - they wanted me to drop the things off there, but I still couldn't drive post-surgery. It was a real pain but in the end a friend took it all for me.

ours is delivered by and collected by millbrook

see if they are operating in your local area, or return to hospital? At least if you take back to hospital they will have to do something with it

If you call your local council's Social Care Occupational Therapy Department they may be able to tell you if the equipment was loaned from their contractor and may be able to arrange collection for you.

Rosscare in Wirral/Cheshire. Try them, they may point you in right direction for your area.

We had this after I had been in an accident and I had been supplied with mobility aids. The NHS made it very difficult to return the equipment, very limited hours at a specific place to do so and I still couldn’t drive. Not open at any times my DH could take them back, he couldn’t take a day off as he had used holidays caring for me and chauffeuring to appointments. Not allowed to drop off at the hospital which would have been easy due to appointments. In the end a friend made a special journey but it was weeks after I had finished with them. All I could think of was that this was being replicated all over and that some people just wouldn’t return stuff as it was so difficult and that the NHS would then have to purchase more at cost to the taxpayer.

If she got it when she was discharged then the Occupational Therapy department at the hospital will know.

All the equipment here is sent out by NRS too.

When I no longer needed my crutches after an op I couldn’t get anyone to take them. It’s a shocking waste of money.
I ended up giving them away for free on Facebook. No wonder the NHS has no money! It’s crazy!

Ring the council social services department and someone will come and collect it.

I spoke to the ward, the discharge team, the woman who organised the carers. The ward and discharge team had no idea and the woman who organised the carers was the one who said to look for a label. I can’t drop the stuff off - I’m not even in the same country. I’ve put it in the garage for now.

I’ll try calling the local surgery and see if they can help. Quite tempted just to dump it on their doorstep and run, actually.

In my area its the councils equipment services. Can you look on the council website? Did any paperwork come with them?
Could also try contacting gp reception/District nurses they may have a contact number.

Good luck they never seem to want equipment back. 13 years as a carer and it has never been harder to get anyone to take responsibility for no longer needed equipment. Covid then gave them an even bigger excuse not to collect. God knows how many millions are wasted on new equipment when perfectly serviceable equipment is left rotting in peoples gardens or in landfill

Agree! I took mine back to the hospital and they told me they don't take back 'used' crutches.

What an absolute joke. Nothing wrong with them.

They're still in my loft.

Blimey - we’ve got a big box for crutches at the hospital entrance so that people can just pop them in there whenever they’ve finished with them. Zimmer frames too. They all get cleaned, checked and parts replaced as needed and then reused.

Put them on EBay as pick up only for 99p. Someone will want them.
Or put on Freegle.
Have been there. Absurd waste. But at least either of these methods will get them reused.

@LeroyJenkinssss which hospital? This stuff came from/via the Royal Berks in Reading.

You can't just give a fracture clinic a piece of equipment that hasn't been cleaned and tested.