Amputee from Worcester: "I will soon be legless, jobless and homeless"

Ivor Bellingham who lives at the school bungalow in Edgeworth Close, Warndon, had his right leg amputated below the knee following a decade of complications caused by a fall.

Because he lives on site at the Oasis Academy he has not only lost his leg but is set to lose his home and his job.

The 48-year-old site manager developed complications after he broke his right foot when he fell off a roof 11 years ago.

The father-of-three and grandfather-of-six had been clearing out guttering when he plummeted 24 feet, crashing onto a porch and parked cars.

Despite his injury he secured a job at the school nine years ago when it was Warndon Primary School (before it became an academy), carrying out duties which included maintenance, cleaning and organising contract work.

The amputation at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham on Thursday, August 27 was a last resort and followed four operations over the last seven years on both feet to try and reshape his heel, including bone fusions and tendon extensions.

The damage to his right foot also indirectly caused damage to his left which 'overcompensated' for his injury and meant he needed operations to his left foot.

Mr Bellingham has been prescribed morphine, nerve tablets and sleeping tablets following the operation and his stump is protected by a plaster cast.

He has been off work for the last 13 months (six months on full pay and six months on half pay) since a knee operation at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester on August 17 last year.

Mr Bellingham is critical of the academy, saying he has not had a letter, a phone call or a visit from any member of staff at the school to enquire after his welfare following the operation to remove his leg.

However, Oasis say they care deeply for their employees and will always give them the opportunity to find alternative accommodation.

Mr Bellingham said: "There was no way the leg could be saved. This was the last resort. I will soon be homeless , jobless and legless. Before this I never had a day off work. I have been working since the age of 15.

"Before I had the leg amputated I got up in the morning in pain and I still went to work.

"I am in excruciating pain but I feel the school has washed their hands of me. I have been made to feel a hindrance to them.

"I don't think I could work for them anymore, the way I have been treated.

"This has broken me down. I cry at the drop of a hat. The counsellor wants me to go on tablets for depression but I don't want to do that because I'm on enough tablets already. I'm not one for sitting down. I like to do things.

"If it was just the amputation I could deal with that okay. It's everything together and more so the way I have been treated by these people."

Mr Bellingham, who lives with his wife, has been registered as 'gold plus' in terms of his housing need for more than six months.

He would like a bungalow in Warndon so he can be near family but says the housing system in Worcester is 'a joke' with many bungalows allocated to older people.

He has a wheelchair and crutches but ultimately it is his ambition to walk again using a prosthetic leg. This could take a year to 18 months.

His wife Jane Cullerne, aged 51, has a degenerative disease in her back and fears she could end up in a wheelchair, making it hard for her to care for her husband.

She said: "The school's duty of care has been zero. We will be given two weeks notice when we have to leave the property. He needs a bungalow adapted to his needs."

They also say it took 10 months from the time he was first off work before Mr Bellingham was seen by an occupational therapist who recommended he be retired on grounds of ill-health.

He has also been waiting eight weeks to see a doctor so he can establish what proportion of his pension he will be able to receive.

Mr Bellingham said the employment and support allowance he would receive of £114 per week was barely enough to cover the bills.

A spokesperson for Worcester City Council said: “The city council takes a very proactive approach when someone is threatened with homelessness - we contact all the local housing associations about their situation.

"Our aim is to find the right property to meet the needs of each individual or family - ultimately, this can take time."

A spokesperson from Oasis said: “Oasis cares deeply about the welfare of everyone who works for our academies, and will always make every effort to support any employee in difficult circumstances.

"In this particular case, we have been intimately involved in liaising with all relevant support services and agencies to help make the transition from work to retirement as seamless as possible, and we have already been working on the matter of their future accommodation requirements.

"We have not, and will not, ask any employee to leave accommodation that is provided due to their position, without first ensuring that they have had the opportunity to find alternative housing.”