Dump it don’t re-use it

An interesting petition has appeared on the Change.org website which suggests that the Junta de Andalucia is wasting significant amounts of money.

Elena Alba Escribano explained that her father-in-law recently had a hip replacement and was supplied with a large number of very helpful appliances such as a zimmer frame, crutches, raised toilet seat and more.

Why doesn’t health authority want appliances returned?

Once he was properly recovered, the family wanted to return the items, only to be told that the Health Authority really didn’t want the material back and it could effectively be thrown away.

The retail cost of a cheap zimmer frame is around €50 and a pair of crutches about €30 but when you consider the number of people living in Andalucia, the cost of purchasing these absolutely necessary items is going to be colossal  especially if they are not re-used.

Spain boasts about its ability to recycle and be green, but this is such an obvious and easy way of saving tax payers money and also stopping the wasteful use of materials when in most cases the appliances can be cleaned, disinfected and put straight back into use.

With an aging population, the number of hip replacements for example is likely to increase which means in turn the cost of purchasing items that are never re-used will soar.

It’s not as if all regional health authorities follow the Andalucian model as in Castilla y León there is a set procedure for dealing with the return of most of these items.

If you agree then sign petition

The petition which can be found at https://www.change.org/ has so far received 32,500 signatures and calls for the Ministry of Health to urge all autonomous communities to make responsible use of public resources and implement a loan and return system for implements that can be sensibly re-used.