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Crutch amnesty at North East hospitals

Hospital bosses have declared an amnesty in a bid to recover lost crutches which are costing the NHS up to £50,000 a year to replace.

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust lends about 5,000 pairs of crutches out each year. The situation has become critical, particularly at the University Hospital of North Tees, where supplies have all but run out.

Accident and emergency consultant Alex Thomas and her colleagues decided the only thing to do was declare a crutch amnesty.

She said: “We know that returning crutches is the last thing on anyone’s mind when they’re properly back on their feet again after breaking a leg or foot. “However we need the crutches for other patients so we’re asking people to come and hand them in at accident and emergency.”

The scheme to get back some 4,500 crutches saw many shamed into returning the missing medical equipment.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .