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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/09/scottish-council-offers-zimmer-frame-amnesty
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| Scottish council offers Zimmer frame amnesty | Scottish council offers Zimmer frame amnesty |
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| A Scottish council has offered an “amnesty” on Zimmer frames, in the hope that it can coax tens of thousands of disability aids out of the hands of residents who no longer need them but have failed to give them back. | A Scottish council has offered an “amnesty” on Zimmer frames, in the hope that it can coax tens of thousands of disability aids out of the hands of residents who no longer need them but have failed to give them back. |
| Authorities in Fife have made provision for the anonymous return of Zimmer frames, walking sticks and bath aids at eight recycling centres across the county, after a pilot scheme in one area led to an 8% boost in the number of mobility aids returned. | Authorities in Fife have made provision for the anonymous return of Zimmer frames, walking sticks and bath aids at eight recycling centres across the county, after a pilot scheme in one area led to an 8% boost in the number of mobility aids returned. |
| Residents’ failure to return expensive equipment costs Fife hundreds of thousands of pounds a year, with the council’s health and social care partnership estimating that more than 160,000 mobility aids are sitting at homes across the county. | Residents’ failure to return expensive equipment costs Fife hundreds of thousands of pounds a year, with the council’s health and social care partnership estimating that more than 160,000 mobility aids are sitting at homes across the county. |
| A council source told the Times: “Amnesties have been known to work for guns, knives and air rifles. Now it is the turn of Zimmers.” | A council source told the Times: “Amnesties have been known to work for guns, knives and air rifles. Now it is the turn of Zimmers.” |
| With Zimmer frames costing £90 a piece, the cost of missing assistive technology can quickly mount. Specially adapted toilet seats can cost up to £25, while trolleys with trays for cups of tea can cost £50. The latter have been seen used as plant pot stands in some cases, a council source said. | With Zimmer frames costing £90 a piece, the cost of missing assistive technology can quickly mount. Specially adapted toilet seats can cost up to £25, while trolleys with trays for cups of tea can cost £50. The latter have been seen used as plant pot stands in some cases, a council source said. |
| There are no specific penalties for those who fail to return assistive technology. Andrew Rodger, chair of Fife’s Health and Social Care Partnership, said that often people simply don’t realise that equipment needs to be returned, or they forget about it. | There are no specific penalties for those who fail to return assistive technology. Andrew Rodger, chair of Fife’s Health and Social Care Partnership, said that often people simply don’t realise that equipment needs to be returned, or they forget about it. |
| Rodger said: “Often it is because when a person passes away, the relatives, or those dealing with the estate, don’t know what to do with it, especially if the family have been living outside Fife and don’t know how the equipment appeared in the house in the first place. In other instances, the person has made a recovery and the equipment is tidied away in a cupboard and forgotten about.” | Rodger said: “Often it is because when a person passes away, the relatives, or those dealing with the estate, don’t know what to do with it, especially if the family have been living outside Fife and don’t know how the equipment appeared in the house in the first place. In other instances, the person has made a recovery and the equipment is tidied away in a cupboard and forgotten about.” |
| Andrew Roger, a local councillor and chair of the health and social care partnership, told the Guardian: “Each year we deliver over 78,000 pieces of equipment to people’s homes but over the years there has been a buildup of equipment that has never been returned. At the moment we know there are over 160,000 pieces of assistive equipment sitting in homes across Fife. | Andrew Roger, a local councillor and chair of the health and social care partnership, told the Guardian: “Each year we deliver over 78,000 pieces of equipment to people’s homes but over the years there has been a buildup of equipment that has never been returned. At the moment we know there are over 160,000 pieces of assistive equipment sitting in homes across Fife. |
| “We want to encourage as many people as possible to take items which are no longer needed to their nearest participating recycling centre or make an appointment for collection so it can be reused, recycled or turned into cash for reinvestment.” | “We want to encourage as many people as possible to take items which are no longer needed to their nearest participating recycling centre or make an appointment for collection so it can be reused, recycled or turned into cash for reinvestment.” |