A MAN whose leg was amputated says he is not receiving the help he desperately needs and feels trapped in his own home.
Nigel Davies, 53, says he has been unable to go upstairs or do basic tasks after he had to have one of his legs removed just below the knee following a blood clot.
Mr Davies, of Ash Grove, Chirk, says he left Wrexham Maelor Hospital believing help would soon be at hand for assistance to be given in providing essential adaptations to his home.
But he says so far nothing has been done. “I feel absolutely helpless,” he said. “I am trapped in my own home. This really is making our life a misery.
“The things I used to be able to do in a few seconds now take me many minutes. I desperately need the house to be adapted but we aren’t hearing from anybody.
“I really hope somebody will come and get this situation sorted out.”
Mr Davies had his leg amputated at the Maelor on January 31 and suffered a heart attack two weeks later, meaning he did not leave hospital until late February.
Since being discharged though, he says he has received no home visits other than by a community physiotherapist.
His wife, Amanda, said he had received promises they would be given help with making the house accessible for him to go to bed and use the upstairs bathroom but this has yet to happen.
She said Mr Davies now had to use a chemical toilet separated by a curtain from the kitchen and wash his hands in the kitchen sink.
“It is a major task getting him over the step, down the drive and into the car,” Mrs Davies said.
“We have a wheelchair but it does not make anything easier and he has fallen twice already trying to get in the car so we can attend hospital appointments.”
Mrs Davies added: “All we need is a stair-lift and a ramp from both the front and rear of the house and our life will be so much easier and not so stressful for us both. We are disgusted with the lack of help we have had.”
A spokesman for the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said Mr Davies was being treated as a priority case.
“When patients require urgent occupational therapy assessments, we aim to conduct home visits within two weeks of discharge from hospital,” said the spokesman.
“We can confirm that Mr Davies’ case is a priority for the local community occupational therapy team.
“Whilst we cannot discuss the details of individual cases, home visits are generally arranged so that assessments can be made to help a patient readjust to home life after a period of treatment in hospital or a surgical procedure.
“If it is likely that more permanent adaptations will be needed, occupational therapists liaise with social services so that further assessments can be made and a range of facilities and mobility aids can be considered and put in place.”