YEOVIL NEWS: Please return equipment to Yeovil Hospital – they are running out of crutches!

YEOVIL NEWS: Please return equipment to Yeovil Hospital – they are running out of crutches!

THE therapy team at Yeovil District Hospital is sending out a plea to the public to return any equipment they borrowed but no longer need, no matter how long ago they received the items.

The call was sparked by the team having to reorder brand new crutches as the stores ran low.

Last year alone, Yeovil Hospital spent £112,900 on equipment lent to patients; that could be drastically cut this year if items are returned.

Senior occupational therapist Elizabeth Goodwill said: “There is a common misconception that we can’t reuse crutches and other equipment, but we can! It is all thoroughly cleaned and can easily be reused. If everyone returned their items it would save the NHS millions across the UK.

“We are committed to ensuring patients have the items they need while they recover, and many people don’t realise they are supposed to hand them back, or think they might hold on to them ‘just in case’. If you need them again we will lend them out again, so please hand them back in between.

“If you have any crutches, frames or commodes in your garage and cupboards, please pop them back to the therapy department at Yeovil Hospital. We won’t ask any questions, we’ll just say thank you!”

Any therapy equipment will be accepted regardless of the hospital they were issued at, the public can take them to the reception desk in the therapy department on Level 3 of the hospital. There are a number of free for 20 minutes car parking spaces outside the main entrance which people can use to drop off equipment.

The commodes lent out by the hospital cost £21.45 each, with zimmer frames at £14.19 and crutches costing £8.36. These are just a small selection of the many items the occupational therapist team has access to that support patients in their recovery.

PHOTO: Members of the therapy team at Yeovil Hospital call for the public to return any equipment they’ve been lent.

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