Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead
News
Release
Campaign launched to return unused community
equipment
The Royal
Borough is launching a campaign to get unused household aids such as walking
frames, grab rails, telecare and bed rails returned so they can be put back to
use.
Community
equipment can make a huge difference to residents’ lives but if it is not
returned when no longer needed then it goes to waste.
The council
provides equipment free of charge to help empower residents to live
independently and wants to make sure the assistance is available to as many
people as possible.
Any items that
were loaned out by the Royal Borough can be returned by dropping them off at
Alzheimers Dementia Support (ADS) in Maidenhead High Street under a new pilot
scheme. For every piece that comes back a small donation will be made to the
charity.
Cllr David
Coppinger, cabinet member for adult services and health, said: “This campaign
really is win-win situation – the more equipment we get back, the more we can
offer assistance to vulnerable residents and for every item returned, a small
donation will be made to charity.
“It never
ceases to amaze me how much of a difference these small gadgets can make to
residents’ wellbeing and by cutting the amount of wasted equipment we can
ensure that even more people can benefit.”
The pilot
scheme will start with small items of equipment being returned to ADS in
Maidenhead but is expected to roll out to include drop off points elsewhere in
the borough and then spread into a county-wide initiative.
For each piece
of equipment that is returned through the shop the council will donate a small
item to the ADS store which can then be sold on to raise further funds.
Larger items
such as profile beds, mattresses, hoists, chairs and equipment used for
personal hygiene e.g. commodes, toilet seats cannot be returned through the
scheme.
Residents are
asked to check that equipment did come from the Royal Borough before returning
it. This can be done by looking for a sticker that provides the NRS name, says
“to order a collection” and the NRS contact number.
Alzheimer’s
Dementia Support can be found at 75 High Street, Maidenhead, SL6 1JX.
