A SHORTAGE of crutches has resulted in a plea for former hospital patients to return the vital equipment.
Accident and emergency staff are asking people who have been issued with crutches but don’t need them any more to bring them back to the University Hospital of North Tees or to One Life Hartlepool’s minor injuries unit.
The trust lends around 50 pairs of crutches a week and the vast majority of them are not returned, with each pair costing £10.
Senior clinical matron in emergency care Viv Priestley said: “We know that returning crutches is the last thing on anyone’s mind when they’re properly back on their feet again after breaking a leg or foot. However we need the crutches for other patients so we’re asking people to come and hand them in at accident and emergency.
“I’m sure many people put them away in a cupboard and forget all about them, but it’s always worth reminding people to just have a look around the house and hand them in if they have inadvertently hung on to them.
“So, if you’re finished with your crutches please hand them in. Accident and emergency staff will be more than happy to take them off your hands.”
People can drop them off at the hospital on Hardwick Road, Stockton, or the One Life injury unit on Park Road in Hartlepool.
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