>> KRISHNAN GURU-MURTHY: Now the Paralympics caught
the public's imagination, with disabled athletes
performing superhuman feats, inspiring generations.
But not all amputees can run like Oscar Pistorius.
As part of our A Legacy To Stand On? series,
Paralympics presenter Daraine Mulvihill
has been hearing how many ordinary amputees struggle
to get a leg that's adequate for even basic walking.
>> DARAINE MULVIHILL: This summer the sporting feats of disabled
athletes amazed the world. When Paralympic superhero
Oscar Pistorious was unexpectedly defeated,
the spotlight was placed on amputee sprintersí blades.
>> OSCAR PISTORIUS: You can't compete.
You saw how far he came back. We're not
racing a fair race.
>> DARAINE: Sporting technology is now so sophisticated
some people think running blades give amputee racers
an advantage over their non-disabled counterparts.
But, off the running track, thatís far from the truth.
This was teenage amputee Kieran Maxwellís dream.
>> KIERAN MAXWELL: It was the best ever. It was amazing
how I, like, got to hold something that everyone
has dreamed of touching before.
Well, me leg it buckled, it just didnít bend properly,
so I fell over.
>> DARAINE: Unfortunately, falling over is a part of life
for most leg amputees. Kieran lost his leg two
years ago, aged just 12, after having rare form of cancer.
The operation to remove it saved his life ñ but the
prosthetic the NHS offered him has not
given him superhuman powers.
>> KIERAN: With this leg, all I can do is just walk with it.
>> NICOLA (KIERAN'S MOTHER): A 13/14 year old child wants to
be out running, they donít to be walking slowly,
they donít want to be taking things easy.
They want to be racing round a football field with their friends.
They want to experience life now.
>> DARAINE: And the Paralympics inspired many people to
believe that their disability need not stand in their way.
Since the Games, there's been an increase in people
inquiring about running blades. The reality for most amputees
is that itís a struggle to get just basic walking legs.
As an amputee myself, Iíve had problems like legs
not fitting, feet breaking, and even recently
having to superglue bits of the leg back together.
The most advanced artifical limbs can cost up to
fifty thousand pounds each. But according to one
recent government report, the NHS spends an average
of just nine hundred pounds per year on each amputee
So perhaps thereís many other people having similar problems.
Iím on my way to meet others who share my and Kieranís frustrations.
Four years ago, Carol Forshaw lost her leg after coming off
her motorbike in Northumberland. Sheíll always be grateful
to the NHS for saving her life. Sheís been less than impressed
with the prosthetic service they offer.
>> DARAINE: The width between your leg and that socket is huge.
>> CAROL FORSHAW: Yup.
>> DARAINE: Oh my gosh.
>> CAROL: Thereís a lot of room, thereís a lot of gap in there.
>> DARAINE: You could almost fit a half an extra
leg into that socket. >> CAROL: Yeah, it makes it really difficult
to
walk on ëcos youíve got a lot ofÖ
>> DARAINE: So surely that would cause your skin
to break down a lot easier as well.
>>CAROL: Yeah, it is uncomfortable because you tend to
sink down into it and that's what causes
the cutting into your groin and your bottom.
>> DARAINE: It seems like youíre in pain when
youíre standing on this leg. >> CAROL: Yeah the fit's never
been very good. Itís not through any
fault of the NHS themselves because they make
the legs to fit and then within a month or so
I need a new fitting and they just havenít got
the space or time to squeeze us in for another fit.
>> DARAINE: Like many amputees, Carolís residual leg
changes size and shape often, meaning she needs
regular socket fittings.The NHS just hasnít been
able to keep up. One national limb loss charity says
her experiences are only too common.
>> GORDON McFADDEN: There are no national standards.
There are a number of guidelines. When these guidelines
are pointed out to individual centres there response
is normally, ìAh, but they are only guidelines,
they are not mandatory.î Limbcare has sent Freedom
of Information request to every NHS centre providing
services to amputees. They asked how many patients
each one had, and how many experts they employed.
>> GORDON: Itís important to spend time with these
professionals very simply because unless that socket is
absolutely comfortable for each individual patient,
it makes no odds whether there is a thousand pounds
worth of componentry attached to that socket or a million
pounds worth attached to that socket.
Our key findings were that there is a vast
disparity in the levels of service provision
based not only upon your postcode, but based upon
which nation of the United Kingdom you reside in.
>> DARAINE: Iím on my way to Gloucester, where
camera salesman Gerald Foote knows what itís like
to lose the postcode lottery. He wants a leg
which will allow him to go back to work full time,
and resume the active life he had before
losing his leg two and a half years ago.
>> GERALD FOOTE: They have lots of new posters
on the wall of various Paralympians, thereís Oscar
and a few other guys as well. Thereís a lovely line
there which says, ëIf you have the tenacity,
we have the technologyí so Iíve asked - I have the
tenacity, they have the technology, but
Iím just not getting it.
>> DARAINE: Geraldís been trying to find out
what heís entitled to. The trouble is, no one seems to know.
>> GERALD: They talk about standard prosthetics,
then they say thereís no such thing as a standard prosthetic.
I just want a better leg so I can walk further,
walk faster, just achieve more. Iím not asking
for special treatment, Iím not asking for a top of
the range fifty thousand pound bionic leg.
I know thatís not going to happen on the NHS,
I understand that. The first day of taking delivery
of this, I got home and the cable snapped,
the leg locked basically, in a locked position.
Iím not happy with the belt attachment,
it's quite cumbersome, the way it works. It's very fiddly.
>> DARAINE: So basically, the legís a bit too long, the cable
here snapped, you werenít taught how to use it,
itís a belt, which isnít ideal, and it digs into you,
yet you were given this leg and told there you go, go on.
>> GERALD: Yeah, but I think thatís fairly standard.
>> DARAINe: The Department of Health told us
they know thereís more to be done to make sure
amputees get the support they need, and that
from April next year prosthetic services
will be planned and bough nationally, so everyone
can be sure of a good service.
>> DARAINE: Itís crucial to spend enough time with a
prosthetic in order to get a well fitting leg.
If itís not fitting right youíre going to get wounds
and sores on your residual limb. And as people
get frustrated with the service, one option
is to fundraise themselves and go private.
Tired of living with the restrictions of her NHS leg,
Carol Forshaw decided to do just that.
>> CAROL: Itís been completely life-changing
in terms of confidence especially. I can go
out now and do my shopping, carry and lift things
without having to look at my foot to see if
itís folding upÖ I know that this legís
not going to let me down, and that just gives
me so much independence and confidence.
>> DARAINE: Carol raised thirty thousand pounds
to pay for her new leg. And the costs are ongoing
as her prosthetic needs altering adjusting and replacing.
The younger you are, the higher the bill.
I lost the lower part of my legs and my fingers when I
was 16, after having meningitis. Luckily for me, some
friends and family were happy to step in and do the
fundraising needed to help with the extra costs
involved in having prosthetics. For example,
weíve had to pay for most of the prosthetic hands
that Iíve had over the years. They cost about five
thousand pounds each, and only last about a year.
Kieran Maxwell, who fell on his NHS prosthetic
while carrying the Olympic torch, was even younger
than me when he lost his leg. But his luckís improved.
Lottery winners Colin and Chris Weir heard about
his situation, and offered to pay
for a much more advanced prosthetic.
What difference will that make to your life,
having a better fitting leg?
>> KIERAN: That I can do anything. Instead of
being sat in the house all day I can go out
with my mates and join in with everyone else,
like at PE at school, or going out with friends,
or just going out in Darlington instead of just
being stuck in the house all day.
>> DARAINE: The Weirs have offered to fund Kieranís
legs as he grows. The Maxwell family are beyond
grateful for their generosity. But Kieranís
only young, and they do worry about what lies ahead.
NICOLA: Heís only 14. Heís going to need legs for
the rest of his life. People think that these legs,
you buy one and itís going to last twenty,
thirty years. They donít last, they wear out.
>> KIERAN: Iím gonna grow but the legs donít
grow with me so I need to keep getting
different legs, every time.
>> NICOLA: Itís never ending, heís going to need
them ëtil the day he dies, basically.
>> DARAINE: Do you think the general perception
out there is that amputees get a leg and off
they go into the sunset?
>> NICOLA: Yes! >> DARAINE: Like the Maxwells, I do worry
about the future. In twenty, thirty, forty
years time, Iím still going to need prosthetics.
I rely on them to lead a full and active life,
and without them, I really donít know what I would do.
To be honest, Iím not at all surprised by the
findings from Limbcare because, like Gerald,
Carol and Kieran, Iíve also had personal experiences
and a lot of problems. But it does verify to me
that Iíve every reason to be concerned about the future.
The Paralympics brought disability to a wider audience,
and made superhumans of incredible disabled athletes.
But the vast majority will never be able
to access this astonishing technology.
The reality for some amputees is that life
is a constant battle for basic prosthetics.