Patients at a Norfolk hospital are being encouraged to return their walking aids like crutches and frames when they no longer need them.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn says refurbishing them could save £36,000 a year.
It has been running a Reuse and Recycling scheme for 15 years, which has seen 2,836 walking aids returned and redistributed to new patients each year saving thousands of pounds each year. However some aids never come back to the hospital.
Pippa Street, Chief Nurse at the QEH, said: “We are incredibly proud of how this recycling initiative has grown over the past 15 years. Not only are we providing a much needed service to our patients by reusing walking aids, but we are also reducing our environmental impact.
“We encourage everyone, whether a patient or member of the public, to return any unused walking aids to us to support this scheme.”
The QEH’s patients, as well as members of the public, can drop off any unwanted walking aids at the hospital’s Main Outpatient Department Monday-Friday 8.30am-5pm.
