Sustainability
Focus on recognised in 2017 by the Queens Award for Voluntary Service .
A typical consignment consists of a 40-foot shipping container holding 600 items . To date , PhysioNet has sent 106 containers to countries including Bulgaria , Moldova , Romania , Syria , Mexico , Ghana , Kenya , South Africa , Malawi , Uganda , Fiji , Bhutan Samoa , India , and Sri Lanka .
PhysioNet has four collection hubs across the UK – Boroughbridge , which is the main storage location , Exeter , Saffron Walden and Inverness . The charity collects disability equipment from care homes , hospitals , schools and equipment services , taking it to the nearest hub .
The equipment is then brought to the main hub in Yorkshire , where physiotherapy and occupational therapy volunteers ensure that the equipment works and is safe to be used .
Over the years , it has partnered with other charitable organisations , including the Margaret Carey Foundation that promotes restorative justice in prisons , and has involved offenders in refurbishing bikes and wheelchairs .
PhysioNet also partners with local organisations and charities in low- and medium-income countries that can receive equipment and distribute it to adults or children who need it .
The charity also organises training for the physiotherapists and occupational therapists in the receiving organisation . To date , this has been delivered by senior physiotherapist Heather Angilley , whose aim is to establish a centre of excellence for paediatric equipment in each receiving country , so that the local therapists are equipped with the knowledge and skills to make adequate equipment assessments and prescriptions for service users , as well as train other therapists in equipment assessment and prescription .
I have been aware of the charity ’ s work since 2015 , when I facilitated the first disability equipment transport to the paediatric rehabilitation centre in Maria Beatrice in Romania .
Physionet field trip July , 2021 . From left : Liana Nagy , Lauren Somerille , Roli Atotoumah and Katie Pratt
North Yorkshire Physionet Hub , July 2021
Recently , its work caught the interest of three Oxford Brookes MSc occupational therapy students from Scotland , Nigeria and the US – Lauren Somerville , Roli Atotoumah and Katie Pratt – who all wanted to explore three distinct , but connected , aspects of PhysioNet ’ s work :
• the barriers and facilitators to upcycling of the disability equipment from the UK to lowand medium-income countries , including the factors that contribute to surplus of disability equipment in the UK ;
• the impact of the upcycling and the redistribution of disability equipment on beneficiaries , focusing on activity participation , health and the wellbeing of children ; and
• the impact on individuals involved in restoring the equipment in the UK , focusing on exploring activity participation , wellbeing and the potential for further skills development . The three occupational therapy students and I visited PhysioNet ’ s warehouse near Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire in July 2021 , to meet with the trustees of the organisation , Peter Thompson , Mike Adams and
The lack of a clear pathway for returning the equipment once it is no longer needed contributes to a surplus of disability equipment in storage , which might eventually end up being scrapped …”
Nigel Lyon , and Heather , to learn more about the work and challenges PhysioNet faces , as well as to discuss potential research plans .
Among the challenges PhysioNet faces is the lack of storage space in the south of England , and thus a significant barrier to equipment collection . The three MSc students are currently exploring potential solutions to this issue and have acted by involving the OT Society and enquiring about the use of storage space with organisations in Oxford .
At this point , the pathway towards disability equipment sustainability in the UK is unclear , and perhaps this is a question more suitable for a PhD research project .
However , the three MSc occupational therapy students at Oxford Brookes are keen to contribute to a sustainable environment by being involved in the upcycling and redistribution of disability equipment from the UK to low- and mediumincome countries , through generating knowledge , raising awareness or finding storage space for surplus unused equipment .
January 2022 OTnews 37