Grace Cares supports NHS Walking Stick Check Week to keep patients safe and promote sustainability
Staffordshire-based Grace Cares is helping promote safety for the elderly – by backing Walking Stick Check Week.
The November 13 to 17 initiative marks an important campaign led by Paul Mills, Falls Prevention Project Lead at Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHC), which aims to prevent avoidable falls caused by poorly maintained walking aids.
The initiative encourages patients, carers, and healthcare professionals to check walking sticks, crutches, and frames for wear and tear, ensuring equipment remains safe and reliable.
Worn ferrules, loose handles, or damaged frames can significantly increase the risk of falls, which the campaign seeks to reduce through awareness, education, and action.
Grace Cares, a not-for-profit organisation based in Staffordshire, is working alongside BCHC and other NHS partners to make care delivery more sustainable by promoting the reuse and responsible return of walking aids.
Currently, only 20% of walking aids are returned after use, yet if just 2 in 5 were reused, it could save the NHS up to £46,000 each year and reduce carbon emissions by 98% per cent compared to manufacturing new equipment.
To better understand how patients and families can be supported to return their walking aids, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust have launched a Walking Aid Return Survey, which takes just five minutes to complete.
Hannah Montgomery, Co-Founder of Grace Cares, said: “We’re passionate about making care both safer and more sustainable. Walking Stick Check Week highlights how something as simple as checking or returning a walking aid can have a huge impact - preventing falls, saving NHS resources, and protecting our planet.”
Grace Cares works nationally with NHS Trusts, councils, and care providers to rescue, refurbish, and reuse care equipment that would otherwise go to landfill.
The organisation’s sustainability model helps improve patient outcomes while reducing environmental impact - ensuring care delivery works for people, communities, and the planet.
Pictured: Hannah Montgomery (left) with members of the Grace Cares team
