Impact of our wheelchair loan Economic resource savings Pam found out about the Red Cross condition would have relapsed or £1,404 short-term wheelchair loan service worsened, requiring re-admittance through internet research, which to hospital. The wheelchair also gave Reduced rehabilitation time in was a great relief to her. Having the them peace of mind in case of such hospital by half a week through chair meant the family could take an emergency. boosting Ron’s recovery = Ron to Normandy in June 2014. Pam felt that the trip to London They borrowed the wheelchair for in November played an important £486 resource savings a week, during which he attended part in her father’s recovery after a for NHS hospital-based the main remembrance ceremony period of being really low. She felt rehabilitation care service and visited several cemeteries and strongly that he would have needed (based on £973 average weekly cost of beaches to pay his respects to those a longer stay in rehabilitation without bed in hospital-based rehabilitation care; who had sacrificed their lives. Ron PSSRU, 2014) said: “It was the answer, because it. “It made a massive amount it was heavyweight and it could go of difference to his recovery – it anywhere, we weren’t restricted...I boosted him up and meant so much Improved recovery helped to couldn’t have done it without the to him to be there, especially when avoid likely early relapse and chair – it was an opportunity not to the Normandy Veterans were asked re-admission to hospital for be missed.” that Sunday morning to lead off the further tests and observations 16 parade. It was quite an emotional for a minimum five days = The family asked to borrow a Red time for them all, but uplifting as £685 resource savings for Cross wheelchair again in November well. …It made a real difference to 2014, so Ron could attend the his recovery, considering how poorly NHS hospital day care/palliative Festival of Remembrance at the he had been; he was in his element service Albert Hall and the remembrance – waving to the crowds as they (based on £137 cost per bed day, which is ceremony and parade to mark 70 were clapping and cheering for the a combined national average of inpatient hospital specialist palliative care for adults years since the Armistice. Just veterans.” £117 and inpatient day care for elderly before this, Ron was hospitalised for patients £157; PSSRU, 2014) two weeks as he had become very As a veteran of those historic run down and he was unable to eat wartime events, it has been properly. A big motivating factor that important for Ron to remember £233 resource savings for helped him to rally and recover was his comrades and to promote the NHS ambulance service the plan to attend the November significance of these events to future (ambulance service: see, treat and convey, Festival of Remembrance, if he could generations. Ron and his family cost per incident; PSSRU, 2014) be sufficiently mobile and the family found the Red Cross wheelchair could help him get around. service to be “an invaluable service… In terms of our experience Without the chair, Ron and his it would have been impossible to do family would not have been able to those once-in-a-lifetime things… I attend these events. Pam said that don’t think people realise how much if they had been unable to go, her it means.” dad “would have been extremely disappointed to say the least … For us it would have been heart-breaking not to have been able to take him… we couldn’t have considered it without the wheelchair and it would have been very upsetting and distressing knowing that.” When Ron returned from the Armistice weekend, he went into 16 Based on Ron’s recent four-week admission, this is felt to be a reasonable rehabilitation for four weeks before attributable minimum number of days, being discharged home. The family when in reality the period as inpatient is likely to be much longer (other factors will kept the wheelchair so Ron could have contributed). Note this value aims attend family outings. They feared to reflect the avoided costs falling within a quarter of a year – i.e. no re-admission that, without the wheelchair, Ron’s within the period to March 2015, to better align with the service user’s condition. 13