At The Occupational Therapy Show 2017 I was shown a moving & handling product, a non-mechanised standing aid, very similar to a popular but more expensive model often used by my Occupational Therapy team.  The product we had been requisitioning in increasingly high numbers needed to be approved by a weekly clinical panel based on clinical reasoning and availability of reconditioned alternatives but was reducing significantly the need for mechanical standing hoists which were currently a standard stock item. The approval process and subsequent ordering meant that clients were often waiting for 2-3 weeks for this piece of equipment with hospital discharges managed with alternatives that were not ideal.

On discussion with the exhibitor some recommendations were made for minor alterations to the product that would make it more flexible within the home environments we work in.  We discussed costs per unit and availability of stock. Based on reduction of mechanical stand-aid provision and the lower cost of this new product I felt able to build a business case that suggested its inclusion as a standard stock item off-set by making the mechanical device a ‘special’ requiring panel approval.

This business case was approved, the equipment trialled and has now been ordered in bulk as a standard equipment store item. More here.