- Wounded veterans are having to wait months for prosthetic legs that fit
- NHS delays have left Clive Smith, 29, wheelchair-bound for eight months
- He was provided with useless prosthetics after losing both legs in 2010
- Mr Smith, who competed in the Invictus Games, said he feels ‘abandoned’
NHS delays are leaving badly wounded Afghanistan veterans wheelchair-bound because many are having to wait months for prosthetic legs that actually fit properly, it has emerged. The girlfriend of one injured soldier accused doctors of ‘sheer incompetence’ after providing her partner with prosthetic limbs that are effectively useless. Clive Smith, who competed in the Invictus Games for injured veterans, has been confined to a wheelchair for eight months while he waits for his new limbs to be refitted.
The 29-year-old, who lost both his legs in 2010 while on a mine-clearing patrol in Helmand province, with 33 Engineer Regiment, says he feels ‘abandoned by the NHS’. ‘It’s been tough. I’ve been a full-time prosthetics user for four years and now I’m wheelchair bound,’ he said. ‘We were told we would get the same level of care for my prosthetics on the NHS, but it just hasn’t been.’
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‘Abandoned: Clive Smith, has been confined to a wheelchair for eight months while he waits for prosthetic legs that actually fit properly
Filed under: Disabilities, NHS, abandoned., Disabilities, NHS, prosthetic limbs, Wounded veterans
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