OUT OLD WITH THE What advice can occupational therapists give to patients or clients who may no longer need their medical or mobility equipment?
As occupational therapists you’re sure to know intimately that one person’s old mobility scooter is another person’s key to independence
E
verything has a limit to its usefulness; a stairlift may be an absolutely essential piece of equipment for a family until the person in the home who needs it is no longer there. A mobility scooter may fit someone’s needs when it’s purchased, but after a while their accessibility needs may change. Sometimes, people just want to change it up. What, then, do you do with equipment that people no longer need for one reason or another? It can be very tempting for some to simply employ the services of the local dump to get rid of these things, but in a world where waste is plentiful and disability or medical equipment can be extremely pricey, is it not better to make sure that someone else may be able to use it? As occupational therapists you’re sure to know intimately that one person’s old mobility scooter is another person’s key to independence, so what are the options when your client or patient needs to move on from old medical or mobility aids? 30
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RETURN THE EQUIPMENT Sometimes, the choice is made for you, and in a way that can be easier. If the equipment was supplied by the NHS, social services, or another support service, they’ll politely request the return of their equipment. It may be your or your client’s job to contact the provider and let them know that the equipment they’ve loaned out is no longer needed, and they’ll give you all the information you need on what will need done with it. It may be the case that they’re able to come and pick it up from its current home, or that it will have to be brought back to them. Regardless, the equipment they’ve loaned out, depending on its state and demand, will very likely be offered to someone else who may need it, so it’ll be spruced up and re-enter service with another person whose life it will likely change for the better.
