A GREENOCK lorry driver who suffered horrific injuries after a 13ft fall at work says he has been abandoned by social care bosses and fears he will never make a full recovery.
James Cunningham is in constant pain and is unable to move after he smashed his left leg and right ankle when he slipped off the top of his vehicle while on a farm in England.
The former Greenock Wanderers rugby player spoke out after Inverclyde Health and Social Care Partnership removed his care at home leaving his seriously ill mum to cope on her own.
He says he now fears for the health of 63-year-old mum Margaret, who has kidney failure, severe arthritis and the lung condition COPD.
"I am in constant pain 24 hours a day. We asked for help and there were carers coming in a for a while, then they reduced it to five mins at a time and now they have cancelled it all together.
"I can't do anything for myself and I am worried about my mum, she is too ill to look after me. It is putting so much stress on her.
"I was in hospital in Winchester in England for three weeks and had to have three operations. It has been an absolute nightmare.
"All I want is to recover and get back to work. But I am getting seriously depressed lying here."
James was delivering and collecting farm supplies when he slipped and fell fell after going up on top of the vehicle to open up the roof.
His work mate and farm workers rushed to his aid, but when they dialled 999 he was told he would have to wait nine hours on an ambulance.
In desperation they lifted him themselves using large sand bags and transported him in a van.
Once at A&E in Winchester he waited seven hours in A&E then was transferred to hundreds of miles Basingstoke to undergo operations on both legs.
Three weeks later he was transferred home to the RAH and discharged home after a couple of days.
Mum Margaret, of Robertson Street, said: "It is a nightmare, James can't move at all. I contacted the council Access First for help.
"I can't do much myself, I have carers coming in and I am about to start kidney dialysis.
"They sent carers in to James three times a day but then that was reduced to just five minutes twice a day.
"What can you do in that time. Next thing they phoned to say it was stopping altogether. We don't know what to do.
"He needs help to do things and I can't help."
James says he is waiting for an occupational therapist to come to the house.
He added: "They are giving me physio appointments at the RAH but how am I supposed to get there?"
In response, an Inverclyde HSCP spokesperson said they would meet with James to discuss his care.
The spokesperson said: “While it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to go into specific detail about an individual service user’s case, we have been supporting Mr Cunningham from the outset and regularly reviewed the support package during his rehabilitation to ensure appropriate care was in place.
“If circumstances change, we will of course reassess to see if any additional support is required.
“We are happy to meet with the family directly to discuss their circumstances in more detail and explain the reasons behind our decision-making and also to provide reassurance that if there is a deterioration then we will reassess and provide support as necessary.”
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