A council employee shockingly recommended a wheelchair–sure amputee might run a marathon whereas denying his request for a blue parking badge.
Nigel Ward, 71, despatched Norfolk County Council photographs of himself standing on one leg and sitting in his wheelchair in his utility for the allow.
Mr Ward had his left leg amputated above the knee after an emergency state of affairs on a cruise three years in the past and has held a blue badge since then.
Two functions for the allow have been denied by the council, which claimed he had not supplied adequate medical proof of his strolling capacity.
A council officer even recommended the retired wealth funding supervisor might have an undisclosed ‘spring leg’ and be cell sufficient to run a marathon.
Mr Ward stated he cannot present new medical proof, as he now not usually sees medical doctors since receiving his prosthetic leg.
He’s now thought of ‘unbiased’ and solely requires medical help if one thing was to go improper together with his prosthetic leg or stump.
Nonetheless, the pensioner stated he has ‘misplaced confidence’ in his prosthetic following a fall during which he broke his femur on his amputated leg.
Amputee Nigel Ward, 71, has been requested for extra proof of his incapacity by his native council after asking for a renewal of his Blue Badge, which he is had for the previous three yr
The Division for Transport’s blue badge scheme permits individuals with extreme mobility points to park nearer to retailers, hospitals and different locations.
Mr Ward stated the state of affairs was ‘immensely’ anxious for himself and his household.
He stated: ‘In the meanwhile, I do not know the place to show. I am absolutely conscious now we have a welfare drawback on this nation however I am genuinely disabled.
‘The door of the automobile must be opened as broad as doable for me to have the ability to get out comfortably for a wheelchair or my sticks.
‘I am not a assured walker with my prosthetic since I fell over and I discover it uncomfortable to stroll any distance in any respect.
‘I really feel genuinely that I want a blue badge.’
Mr Ward was on a cruise within the Caribbean when he suffered an sudden aneurysm rupture behind his knee in 2023.
He was handled on the ship earlier than being airlifted to the Azores – and had an amputation of his leg leg above the knee resulting from tissue loss of life.
Mr Ward stated the state of affairs was ‘immensely’ anxious for himself and his household
Mr Ward obtained additional remedy at Norfolk and Norwich Hospital the place he was given a prosthetic leg and a blue badge, no questions requested.
A yr later, nasty fall during which he broke his femur knocked his confidence and noticed the retired banker spend a month in hospital recovering.
Mr Ward stated: ‘I’ve by no means been capable of stroll unaided with the prosthetic limb and I at all times should be accompanied for somebody to provide me my sticks.
‘Whereas I can drive our computerized automobile, I can not put on my prosthetic leg as a result of the socket that covers my stump doesn’t match between the steering wheel and the seat.
‘Meaning I want help in attending to my wheelchair, with the automobile door open as broad as it may well – which is why I want entry to disabled parking.’
The council has twice rejected Mr Ward’s request for a blue badge.
He’s now calling on the council to hunt certification from an professional assessor to confirm his incapacity and re-examine medical proof he supplied three years in the past.
‘I believe they (the council) are alluding to the truth that there are actually individuals, amputees, who put on prosthetics and who’re capable of cope and handle fairly properly, as if it was simply an extension of the conventional limb,’ Mr Ward stated.
‘Now, I am not in that class. My strolling with the prosthetic limb could be very restricted.
‘I’ve by no means really counted, however I doubt that I might stroll 50 steps without having to cease for a couple of minutes to take a breath.’
Mr Ward’s daughter, Helen Robinson, wrote that she was ‘completely appalled’ that her father’s utility had been denied by the council.
She stated: ‘What extra proof is required to display the numerous influence that shedding a leg above the knee can have on somebody’s mobility?
‘Why is somebody who has already been recognised as eligible for a blue badge now being put by way of this course of once more, having to show their circumstances once more? Do you suppose legs miraculously develop again?
‘Somebody on the council really stated this to Dad on the telephone, ‘We do not know that you do not have a type of spring legs and will run a marathon!’
‘At 71, my dad shouldn’t need to face this stage of stress and uncertainty simply to entry the parking assist he wants.
‘A blue badge will not be a luxurious or a privilege to be taken evenly. It may make an actual distinction to the independence, dignity and on a regular basis lifetime of a disabled individual.’
Since sharing his story on-line, the household have obtained a number of messages from individuals saying they had been additionally struggling to resume their permits.
Mr Ward believes an uptick in fraudulent claims for blue badges has led to reliable functions being scrutinised extra intently.
Norfolk County Council stated: ‘We all know how necessary blue badges are for serving to individuals to stay unbiased. Now we have to work throughout the steerage set for us by the Division for Transport, which incorporates detailed steerage how eligibility must be assessed by way of proof and assessments.
‘As detailed on our web site, candidates should adequately proof the difficulties they expertise while strolling, this is applicable to these reapplying for an expiring Blue Badge in addition to first time functions.
‘There isn’t a renewal course of, and candidates are required to proof their ongoing eligibility with every utility. Proof might embody letters, experiences or particulars of remedy from a medical skilled.
‘Anybody requiring assist with a blue badge utility or who’s unable to make use of the net utility course of can name the council’s Buyer Service Centre on 0344 800 8020, and we might be blissful to offer assist and recommendation.’
