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Recycling revolution

Carrick Brown explains how families with terminally-ill children can access vital pieces of equipment, thanks to a new scheme.

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The UK’s largest charity provider of specialist equipment for children with disabilities and terminal illness has merged its charitable and supporting business interests to become ‘Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children’. Working together as one charity we can concentrate on our mission to help more disabled and terminally ill children around the UK.
 
Newlife specialises in developing new ways in which to support children with essential equipment needs. One of these is our recycling initiative that not only benefits families but helps statutory services make their budgets go further.
 
Families swap equipment on networking forums and purchase second-hand items from websites that don’t guarantee condition, often resulting in wasted money and further disappointment.  Against this backdrop, we have taken a bold step and now offer a wide range of recycled equipment.  All collected from local statutory services and individuals, these items were destined for landfill but have now been refurbished and clinically cleaned to national standards before being offered back to a UK-wide market. 
 
Newlifeable’ offers beds, wheelchairs, standing and walking frames, hoists, buggies, seating and bathroom aids on a first- come, first-served basis through www.newlifeable.co.uk 
 
Families who would be eligible for a Newlife equipment grant can apply for free support through Newlifeable, should the item they need be advertised on the website. 
 
However, each item can also be purchased at a substantially reduced price which covers the cost of refurbishment. 
 
This not only enables Newlife to support more disabled children than ever before, it also helps statutory services by saving them storage costs for equipment they can’t allocate locally and at the same time enabling them to meet their legal responsibilities by creating a trusted UK-wide second-hand market. 
 
With the number of disabled and terminally ill children in the UK now at around one million, new and innovative ways must be found to make provision. 
 
Newlifeable has recovered equipment worth more than £1.2million that has been refurbished at a cost of about £210,000. 
 
  • Carrick Brown, senior manager for care services, Newlife  

More information

Newlife services can be accessed through the Newlife Nurse Helpline.
 
 
Author
Carrick Brown, senior manager for care services, Newlife

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