Reusing community care equipment enables independence for others in Cambridgeshire

Residents in Cambridgeshire are being urged to return borrowed community care equipment they no longer need.

Independent living provider NRS Healthcare loans thousands of items of small daily living aids such as crutches and walking frames for residents to use at home. Cambridgeshire County Council is working in partnership with the company to recover items that are no longer required so that they can be used by others.

The company has set up community care equipment drop-off points at the nine Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) in Cambridgeshire. This will allow returned items to be reconditioned and redistributed to other residents who need them.

Information on the locations and opening times of HRCs can be found on Cambridgeshire County Council’s website at https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/hrc

This initiative is separate to the collection service for larger items such as beds, shower chairs and hoists which can continue to be collected by NRS free of charge. You can arrange free collection of these larger pieces of equipment by contacting: enquiries@cambspeter.nrs-uk.net or calling 0345 121 3456.

Councillor Lorna Dupré, chair of the environment and green investment committee, said: “Items provided by NRS Healthcare are helping to ensure that many of our residents can live independently and stay out of formal care settings.

"By returning these small pieces of community care equipment once they are no longer needed, residents can help others to remain living in their own homes.”