New return and reuse walking aid scheme will help create greener future
Did you know that just by reusing walking aids, such as walking sticks, frames, rollators and crutches, we can save 20% of carbon emissions, with the aim of growing to 40% in the future?
We’ve launched a new walking aid return and reuse scheme at The Royal London and Newham Hospitals to help us create a greener future for the Trust and wider NHS, all while helping people in need of mobility support.
Patients can now return their walking aids once they no longer need them to dedicated collection carts at the following locations:
The Royal London Hospital
- Outside the Stepney Way entrance, next to the bike storage
- Outside the main entrance
Newham Hospital
- Entrance / exit concourse at St. Andrews Wing
- Entrance / exit concourse at Gateway Surgical Centre
Each aid will remain in storage for a minimum of 72 hours, before being deemed safe for use again. Once the aid is ready, it will be given to new patients and help them to improve their recovery and mobility at home. The returned walking aids will be cleaned and labelled, before being put into clean storage.
Through this scheme, we can save up to £46,000 a year and emissions equal to 5,670 car trips from Bristol to London.