Scottish council offers Zimmer frame amnesty
This could have been in And finally but the cash saving element of it has a serious bent in the light of a bit of a Hinterland focus on health challenges this week. The story tells us
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.
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.”
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.