Fife Council announces amnesty on Zimmer frames

A SCOTTISH council is offering an amnesty on Zimmer frames.

Fife Council announces amnesty of Zimmer frames. Picture: Rob McDougall/TSPL

Amnesties are usually reserved for guns or drugs - with police promising not to press charges if the illegal possessions are handed over.

But now Fife Council have announced that they will turn a blind eye to those who have forgotten to return walking sticks, Zimmer frames and chair hoists.

160,000 pieces of assistive equipment are thought to be lying unused in homes across Fife.

The council are calling on owners who no longer need the equipment to return it to participating recycling centres so the equipment can be reused or recycled.

Those who return the equipment will not be fined or punished for keeping it longer than necessary.

A trial scheme for a similar project was run in Glenrothes last year and saw an 8% increase in the overall volume of equipment being returned and returned more quickly.

Councillor Andrew Rodger, who is chairing the scheme, said: “Each year we deliver over 78,000 pieces of equipment to people’s homes but over the years there has been a build up of equipment that has never been returned.

“We want to encourage as many people as possible to take items that are no longer needed to their nearest recycling centre.

“Equipment such as bath lifts, height adjustable seating, zimmer frames, shower chairs and kitchen trolleys can make a real difference to people’s lives.

“At the moment we know there is [sic] over 160,000 pieces of assistive equipment sitting in homes across Fife.”

Age UK have said the shortage of disability aids such as Zimmer frames is contributing towards a shortage of hospital beds.

The charity estimated that 41,000 hospital bed days each year were lost as doctors refused to discharge patients because of a lack of support at home.

A spokesman for the charity said: “Without care home places, home care packages or home adaptations, we are simply wasting precious NHS resources at a time when hospital services are already under great strain.”

A Zimmer frame costs around £30 to replace, whilst a pair of crutches costs upwards of £20.

Like The Scotsman on Facebook

DOWNLOAD THE SCOTSMAN APP ON ITUNES OR GOOGLE PLAY