Patients who have been given mobility equipment to use are being asked to return it when no longer needed.
Crutches, metal walking sticks and walking frames are among some of the items patients can return if they’ve borrowed the equipment or been issued the equipment from Ipswich or Colchester hospitals.
Each item of equipment is deep cleaned, checked and maintained or repaired before being issued to another patient.
Items that can be returned include:
- crutches
- metal walking sticks
- walking frames
- perching stools
- commodes
- shower chairs
- toilet frames
How you return equipment is different depending on the area.
Members of the Saxmundham and North East Integrated Neighbourhood Team Integrated Therapy Team, with the new amnesty bin in Leiston.
Returning equipment in east Suffolk/Ipswich:
- Drop it into the large blue recycling bin outside Entrance 6, Entrance 7 or the Garrett Anderson building at Ipswich Hospital
- Contact Medequip for a free collection by calling 01473 351805 or email suffolk@medequip-uk.com
- Take it to Medequip’s depot at Unit 31, Bluestem Road, Ransomes Europark, Ipswich, IP3 9RR
- Return it to the Live Well Hub in Leiston at Waterloo Centre, Waterloo Avenue, Leiston, IP16 4HF
- Return it to The Dales in Ipswich at 216 Dales Road, Ipswich, IP1 4JY
Returning equipment in north Essex/Colchester:
- Return crutches, walking frames and metal walking sticks to the Physiotherapy Department at Gainsborough Wing, Colchester Hospital
- Any medical equipment that was delivered directly to your house should have a Medequip or ECL sticker on it. If so, you can contact Medequip for a free collection. Call 0333 034 2048 or email essex@medequip-uk.com
This includes hospital beds, toilet frames, perching stools, commodes, hoists, slings, slide sheets, wendylets (special bed sheets) etc. - You can also return equipment with an ECL or Medequip sticker direct to the depot at Unit 2, Horizon 120 Business Park, Horizon Boulevard, Braintree, Essex, CM77 7AY.
If you’ve left Colchester Hospital with a piece of medical equipment that isn’t a walking aid and doesn’t have a Medequip or ECL sticker on it, please do not return it to Medequip but contact the team at the hospital who supplied it.
Material moon boots or arm supports cannot be returned as they cannot be cleaned for future patients.
Please don’t return equipment to our community hospitals or to our community teams – they aren’t able to take back equipment there.
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