Commonly , wheelchair services can have overriding criteria that wheelchairs over five years old should be disposed of regardless of condition or working order . Volunteering his own time to check , clean and replace any wheelchair parts , a member of staff at the Wiltshire Wheelchair Service has reconditioned almost 500 wheelchairs and 800 wheelchair cushions for donation to the charity and made significant savings for the service in waste removal costs .
For recipients and their caregivers in Romania , a wheelchair provides an immeasurable improvement in quality of life .
Belief in Action has been actively working with other UK based charities , including PhysioNet ( OTnews , January 2022 , pages 36-37 ), Waste to Wonder and Peace and Hope , to efficiently share donated equipment from different areas of the UK and transport them to various projects in other parts of the world . This is including for humanitarian distribution into Ukraine and Turkey , following the earthquake .
Without doubt these aids and equipment are of huge value to beneficiaries . Just this month , a donated wooden stander that had been decommissioned in the UK was given to a small child in Romania to encourage her to weight bear .
Specialist chairs available through the equipment loan scheme enabled the seating and positioning of several young people so that they could engage in a collaborative assistive technology project with the University of Vienna .
Being notified as a charity of what is being discontinued , decommissioned or scrapped is immensely useful and we are grateful for all those service managers , occupational therapists and other healthcare professionals who partner with us to recycle , reuse and repurpose .
Words SUSANNA ROBINSON and ELKE SMALL , volunteers at Belief in Action . For more information visit bit . ly / 3MQgxUJ .
At RCOT we ’ re committed to embedding sustainability in everything we do . If you missed last month ’ s article on our first pulse survey on environmental sustainability , which was carried out late last year , then read more at bit . ly / 45BrvWF .
The survey highlighted the need for our profession to drive change further across the sustainability agenda . We would love to hear your examples of changes you have been making in this area to reduce impact on the environment , examples of projects or initiatives as well as some of the key areas for improvement . This could be in any of the following :
• changing how we prescribe ( reducing consumption )
• sustainable materials and procurement
• reuse of materials and equipment
• recycling and disposal .
So , if you have your own examples , like this one , of where you have been able to change your supplier or organisational approach , so that equipment is reused and not scrapped , then please contact us at editorial @ rcot . co . uk .
Important questions for reflection
In this article , the authors rightly highlight that ‘ even though our “ waste ” can benefit others in poorer countries , the extent of what we discard , and the associated costs of this to the UK is , in our view , at a shocking level ’.
Patterns of redistribution of unwanted items to far-flung places raise important questions for the UK occupational therapy profession to reflect on . Although the logistical considerations that may be leading to some of this wastage are clearly explained , there are some fundamentally concerning ethical questions that derive from this type of charitable practice .
Foremost , how is it that equipment deemed unsuitable for those who live in wealthier countries is deemed suitable for those in poorer countries ? What are the inherent assumptions being made through charitable actions of this nature , and do they perpetuate a colonial legacy ? Where and how does cultural humility find its expression through these practices ?
Furthermore , in line with the urgency of embedding environmental sustainability as central to UK occupational therapy practice , if equipment still has usability , do we not have an obligation to continue to do so within our healthcare organisations , before incurring replacement costs ?
What are the planetary health costs of transporting usable equipment to poorer countries , particularly when it is increasingly evident that the health-related impacts of the climate crisis disproportionately impact people living in poorer countries ?
Organisations such as Belief in Action , PhysioNet , Waste to Wonder , Peace and Hope , and others , perform vitally important work through their distribution of equipment to individuals living in areas where access to such equipment is limited .
And until the world is a more equitable place , these activities are essential . But until then , perhaps these questions can support reflection for future action ?
Words DR TANYA RIHTMAN , PhD , Principal Lecturer , Occupational Therapy Programme Lead , Oxford Brookes University
26 OTnews June 2023