OSTOMY SUPPLIES

These are the bags and devices patients use after they have had surgery on their bowels or bladders, leaving them with the need to collect their waste in a device attached to their bodies. In the UK these are provided by the NHS. In poorer countries the patient has to pay for them and often they are in very poor supply, so the price of the items is beyond most peoples wages. Without these bags the patients are effectively housebound and there life is very desperate.

There are many reasons why someone might need to have colostomy surgery, including:-

  • Diverticulitis
  • Crohn’s disease
  • Cancer of the bowels
  • Obstruction of the bowels
  • Trauma & injury
  • Bowel incontinence
  • An emergency situation

Colostomy bags are very expensive, in the unlikely event that the local pharmacy would have them in stock. Imagine the humiliation if you couldn’t get one and had to make your own out of leaky carrier bags – something that frequently happens in poorer countries. We have seen one young teenage boy using a tin can that he strapped to his belly.

Jacob’s Well helps people, particularly in West Africa, Ukraine and Cuba by sending the ostomy supplies that otherwise they would not have, enabling patients to live a dignified life. We are very grateful to receive any donation of unwanted Ostomy products including pouches (even if they have been pre-cut) and accessories. We can also accept lotions, powder, sprays, gels and wipes – provided they are unopened.

We don’t really need the external packaging if that would reduce the weight / bulk, just the corner that says what size they are is fine as we repack them to send them abroad anyway. If you are going to send them you might get a better deal using https://www.parcel2go.com/ sometimes they are cheaper for couriers than going direct. Please don’t send items to any local lockers / parcel shops as a lot of the time we never know they are there.

 

Our address is;
Jacob’s Well Appeal
Jacob’s Well Yard
Swinemoor Lane
Beverley
East Yorkshire
HU17 0JX

If you send them please put your name and address (or email address) on the inside so we can send you a thank you and a newsletter to give you some idea where they will be sent.