Devon is short of walking frames

Covid hits frames, toilet seats and pressure cushions

Devon has a shortage of walking frames and raised toilet seats.

It's led the county council to issue an amnesty.

Return your toilet seat and not a word will be said.

The shortage has arisen because of the pandemic leading to increased demand for mobility and personal care aids. Even hospital beds that help vulnerable people in Devon to live independently at home are in short supply.

The county council is arranging free returns for anyone who has equipment they no longer need. When a similar scheme ran last year, hundreds of items being returned, refurbished, sterilised and put back into use in the community. 

Wheelchairs, unfortunately, are not part of the amnesty.

Whilst the world fights covid, it's led to disruption of supplies, especially from Asia where many independent living equipment items are manufactured and shipped from.

Devon County Council reports that the world’s third and fifth largest ports in China were under covid lockdowns in June, and global economists predict that the continued constraints on key shipping routes will continue into 2022. It's leading to delays of four to six weeks for essential kit.

Devon is now low on some items of independent living equipment, including four-wheeled walking frames and raised toilet seats.

Glen Baxter, of Millbrook Healthcare Ltd, which provides community equipment to people on behalf of Devon County Council and NHS Devon CCG says: "We deliberately built our stocks up last year, but conditions right now are very challenging." 

With no sign of the situation improving soon, Millbrook Healthcare Ltd, Devon County Council and NHS Devon CCG, are calling an ‘equipment amnesty’, asking people who no longer need their community equipment, to return it free of charge.

"We were delighted by the response last year, " said Glen Baxter of Millbrook. "Because we were able to put back into circulation items that were no longer being used, we were able to continue to provide the vital equipment that people needed in the timescales required. We want to do the same again now."

Supply pressures are affecting the availability of four-wheeled walking frames and toileting equipment in particular to Devon. Other equipment used in high volumes includes hospital beds, clinical mattresses, pressure cushions and hoists.

Collection of the equipment from people's homes is free, and Millbrook staff will collect the items from the property. Wheelchairs however, are not part of the amnesty, because these are not provided by the community equipment service Millbrook delivers.

The amnesty will run until Monday 30 August. People should call 0330 1248214 to arrange a collection.

Councillor James McInnes, Devon County Council’s Cabinet member responsible for adult social care and health, said:

"We were pleasantly surprised at the level of response we received to last year’s amnesty, with hundreds of items if not more collected from people’s homes across Devon. We’re hoping to achieve that again while we’re experiencing these problems in the supply chain, but there are also good environmental reasons too as to why we’re keen to re-use equipment where we can. If the equipment amnesty is successful, we’ll be considering whether to hold it regularly as a matter of routine.”

Millbrook Healthcare Ltd already operate a re-use service throughout the year, collecting items of higher value and equipment that people are able to leave at council-run household waste recycling centres for collection by Millbrook. What can be re-used is refurbished and put back into the system, and items that can’t are recycled or given to charity as overseas aid.