Liskeard Community Hospital is offering a crutches amnesty to anyone who has borrowed a set, then failed to return them. Over the past two months, staff in the Minor Injuries Unit have given out 40 pairs, of which only 10 have been returned. Julie Allerton, senior sister in charge of the unit, said: 'Often people provided with crutches either forget to return them when they are no longer needed, or put them to one side embarrassed to bring them back. 'Sometimes, if the crutches have been used by a relative, people do not actually know to where they can return them. 'It is easy to see how this can mount up and means that resources are used replacing equipment that has not been returned, instead of buying other equipment to support patient recovery.' Anyone who has a set of crutches they no longer need can return them to the Minor Injuries unit at the hospital.
