{"id":602410,"date":"2026-05-25T04:06:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T04:06:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/602410\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T04:06:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T04:06:41","slug":"new-bolton-scheme-helps-hospital-patients-with-free-furniture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/602410\/","title":{"rendered":"New Bolton scheme helps hospital patients with free furniture"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Age UK Bolton<\/a> has joined forces with social enterprise Squosh Social CIC to create a new furniture delivery scheme for older people being discharged from hospital.\n<\/p>\n

\n The partnership will see Squosh Social collect and store mattresses<\/a> that have been used for fire safety testing and would otherwise be thrown away, despite only having a small test mark.\n<\/p>\n

\n The mattresses, along with matching bed bases and other household essentials, will then be delivered free of charge to people recovering at home after a hospital stay.\n<\/p>\n

\n The initiative comes amid rising furniture poverty across the country<\/a>, with charities reporting increased demand for basic household items over the past year.\n<\/p>\n

\n Vicky Hitchen, Head of Health and Enterprises at Age UK Bolton, said the scheme would help remove a major barrier facing some patients ready to leave hospital.\n<\/p>\n

\n She said: \u201cNot having suitable beds at home has been a real barrier to hospital discharge for our Home From Hospital team in the past, causing delays and increasing risk.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cBut now we have the partnership with Squosh Social in place, people on low incomes can quickly access the support they need and recover independently at home after a hospital stay.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s a strong and practical solution which fills a gap in Bolton\u2019s hospital discharge service.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n The initiative will also provide matching bed bases and free delivery to ensure vulnerable older people can return home safely after a stay in hospital.\n<\/p>\n

\n Other essential household items, including sofas, chairs and white goods such as fridges, can also be delivered through the partnership.\n<\/p>\n

\n Where needed, Squosh Social can also help with house clearances and furniture removals.\n<\/p>\n

\n Eric McBean, co-founder of Squosh Social CIC, said the initiative would help tackle furniture poverty across Greater Manchester while reducing waste.\n<\/p>\n

\n Vicky Hitchen, Head of Health and Enterprises at Age UK Bolton and Eric McBean, Founder of Squosh Compacting Company. (Image: Age UK)\n<\/p>\n

\n He said: \u201cThis is another step in the right direction when it comes to decreasing furniture poverty in Greater Manchester.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cAll the furniture we provide \u2013 including the beds going to Age UK Bolton \u2013 is high quality and will provide people with dignity and the fresh start they need.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe\u2019re providing a solution which focuses on people\u2019s needs but is also sustainable and prevents hundreds of household furniture items from ending up in landfill.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n People wanting to make a referral to the scheme or donate unwanted furniture can contact Age UK Bolton via hfh@ageukbolton.org.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Age UK Bolton has joined forces with social enterprise Squosh Social CIC to create a new furniture delivery…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602411,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-602410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}