Sounds improbable? This is just one example of loaned and unwanted community support equipment being used inappropriately despite being desperately required by other residents in need.

In any one year, up to £250,000 worth of loaned equipment is not returned and “lost” across West Sussex.

As a consequence, West Sussex Community Equipment Service is holding an amnesty for the return of items such as: pressure care mattresses, portable hoists, hospital beds at home, adjustable height commodes, bed rails/safety sides, bath lifts.

Recovered equipment has been found stored in attics, garden sheds and garages, dumped in rivers and ditches or skips and has found alternative uses, for instance, as a TV stand.

Alternatively people who have recently moved may have ‘inherited’ some of this equipment around the house and don’t know what to do with it.

Any unwanted equipment will be collected free of charge – provided it has a barcode – and will then be cleaned to the highest possible standards and loaned to another person who is in current need.

The equipment has come from hospitals, community nurses, occupational therapists, or physiotherapists and is loaned out until people have recovered or no longer need them.

Peter Catchpole, Cabinet Member for Health and Adults Services, said: “You won’t get into trouble for forgetting to return the equipment, but we do need them back.

“Some of the equipment that is out there, like for example a bath lift, could help on average 20 people in need through its lifetime.”

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NHS Somerset has begun rolling out telehealth equipment to thousands of its patients as part of a scheme that will allow them to monitor long-term health conditions from home.

As part of a three-year, £1.2m contract, 4,000 NHS patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease and diabetes will be able to monitor their health and vital signs remotely.

The telehealth scheme, which uses the safe mobile care system from healthcare technology company Safe Patient Systems, uses touchscreen mobile phones which have been programmed with personalised care plans.

Each day the phones will prompt patients to answer key questions about their health and will automatically capture their vital physical signs.

Following a commissioning process which began November 2011, some surgeries in the county started using the system in January. NHS Somerset is planning a full roll out after a "communications day" on 28 May to tell patients about the new system.

According to Dr Sarah Pearce, a GP in the town of Chard, telehealth has been used in Somerset for some time, but this is the first time mobile devices have been involved.

Some patients have said they prefer using mobile phones instead of the previous Tunstall system which used a "box" located in the living room, she told Guardian Government Computing. "You have people round and they can see the box, whereas this just looks like a mobile phone and doesn't label them as having an illness."

"Patients can take it away for the weekend, because it is very light, very mobile. If you had a patient who wanted to maintain their independence, they could take it to the shops and it could monitor their condition while they are out shopping."

Trials of the safe mobile care system at South Birmingham primary care trust with 100 COPD and chronic heart disease patients took place over 12 months in 2012-11. In August 2011 NHS Bristol started using the technology to support 3,000 patients over three years.

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The aim of the fair is to give people the chance to ask questions, receive information, join a local group etc all under one roof for one day. Oxford City Council will be running the event in partnership with Oxfordshire Unlimited, a local user led disability group.
More details about Unlimited can be found at www.oxfordshireunlimited.org.

This event will be held in Oxfords Town Hall, St Aldates, Oxford on the 9 May between 10.00am and 3.00pm.

In his latest blog, the minister highlights the work being done by South East Essex Community Healthcare to improve care for children whose asthma is difficult to manage.

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Help at Hand is a complete mobile telecare service that encompasses an easy to carry mobile-enabled pendant or wristwatch connected to a secure website and 24/7 alarm receiving centre. The service is developed specifically for health and social care settings where there is a major focus on using technology to improve care services, provide greater patient choice and better manage healthcare resources.

The use of telecare is proven to help delay or avoid unnecessary admission to care homes, reduce emergency call outs,days in hospital and importantly reduce risk to the user.  In addition,where cost benefit of existing telecare solutions has been assessed, it is estimated that a total of £5.8 million has been saved in care services – across just 1,722 service users in England

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Of the £330m found, £72m will go towards urgent care facilities, including new operating theatres in East Lancashire and Hillingdon, an upgrade for St Helier Hospital and a new A&E department at the North West London Trust.

Additionally, £30m will fund hospital facilities, including a new paediatric unit, £30m will provide diagnostic equipment and CT scanners and £16m will improve maternity services and equipment. £6m is set to improve cancer care and screening.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “It will ensure millions of people see better buildings, better equipment, and brand new facilities and services as well as saving thousands of lives.”

Health secretary Andrew Lansley said: “By reinvesting the money we have saved we are able to put over £330m into projects that will help over two and a half million patients per year.

“Ensuring patients have access to the best quality equipment and services is essential in a modern NHS that strives to put patients first. This investment will mean that old facilities are re-vamped, there is more world class equipment in NHS hospitals and more patients get the scans and treatment that they need.”

David Stout, deputy chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “This is good news for a number of NHS organisations, which should help meet some of the increasing costs of technology and facilities.

“But on its own it won’t alter the big picture which is that the NHS faces many years of serious financial pressure. We have to grasp the nettle of serious change to services if the NHS is to stay in the black.”

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The Report draws attention to a number of significant human rights issues, including:

• the need for freestanding legislation to protect the right to independent living in UK law
• the effect of current reforms to benefits and services on the ability of disabled people to enjoy independent living
• the role played by the UNCRPD in policy development and decision making at all levels of government
• the use of equality impact assessments
• the effects of devolution on implementation of the UNCRPD
• hate crime

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The announcement of the Whole System Demonstrator (WSD) results in early December 2011 highlighted that telehealth provides a unique opportunity to make significant financial savings when implemented for patients suffering with long-term conditions.

The report provides robust evidence in support of changing the way healthcare is delivered and accessed and, in particular, the way that the NHS manages the growing problem of long-term conditions. The government's recent drive to boost private sector funding of infrastructure projects is also a timely catalyst to help deliver telehealth systems in the UK.

Patients who suffer from long-term conditions make up 31% of the population, but approximately 69% of all primary and acute care budgets in England are spent on them. They account for more than half of GP appointments and nearly two-thirds of all outpatient appointments. The 5% of patients who have one or more long-term conditions account for 49% of all inpatient bed days.

One particular long-term condition, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is the second most common cause of emergency admissions, the largest cause of hospital readmission and is one of the most costly diseases in terms of hospital care.

So, looking at different ways of delivering care to patients who suffer from these long-term conditions is a key priority for an NHS facing challenging efficiency targets. The delivery of those targets will require the NHS to challenge the current methods of service delivery and the boundaries that are often placed on the provision of acute, community and social care.

Telehealth and telecare have been shown to provide opportunities for delivering care more efficiently. There is national and international evidence that demonstrates the delivery of both cost savings and improved care to patients with long-term conditions. The benefits have primarily been in preventing unplanned hospital admissions and facilitating early discharge.

It also provides a mechanism through which selected patients with long-term conditions can remotely monitor a range of daily vital signs such as blood pressure, oxygen saturation, pulse rate, temperature and weight. This also provides trend data for clinical teams.

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Phil launched his latest challenge at Chichester College on the 24th January 2012, supported by members of the College, local schools, the Armed Forces, an array of celebrities and West Sussex Fire & Rescue cheering him on.