Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that surgery after-care equipment is (a) collected from patients when it is no longer needed and (b) reused when in pristine condition in order to reduce costs.

There is a responsibility on National Health Service trusts to make the very best use of all resources and items where they are safely and legally reusable and returnable.

The policy on the return of equipment is a matter for each individual NHS trust. The policy should be included in the trust’s Sustainable Development Management Plan (SDMP). The publication of a trust’s SDMP is a requirement under Service Condition 18 of the NHS Standard Contract. This should be available for inspection by any member of the public.