"At this point I have zero trust in the entire service"

I have tried to call but this is just the general number and I wasn't able to get through. I can send my details if that would be an option?

Hello,

I have been debating whether to respond to this as it seems futile at best, as despite contact numbers being provided and promises made, I still have not been able to get a call back from WestMARC.

I have left 2 messages on the number provided with my name, contact telephone number and the reason for my call. The first in August and again at the beginning of September, and have had no response to either. When I received the initial reply to my post I was grateful that someone was willing to hear how my experiences had left me feeling but at no point did it occur to me that it would turn into yet another negative interaction with WestMARC and add to the trauma of my ongoing debacle with the service.

Having my dominant hand amputated has been utterly devastating to every aspect of my life and from the moment I wake each day my challenges begin, and I struggle with everything from the most basic tasks of self-care, washing, dressing, preparing, and eating meals, a simple trip to the shops and the list goes on and is never-ending and doesn’t stop all day every day.

While I am aware a prosthesis will not eliminate the majority of my challenges, it is an important step for me in terms of my recovery from my amputation and moving on, it will also help me regain a small fraction of my independence which is something I am acutely keen to do.

I am sure most people are aware that any amputation will take its toll on mental health so when I initially started to attend WestMARC my mental health was fragile at best, each following appointment when I was expecting to see both OT and prosthetics which turned out to be only OT only chipped away a little more each time at the mental health I had left. Thereafter it would be the initial excitement at the next step due to happen coupled with the crushing devastation by it either not happening or delays to the timescales.

It has now been almost 3 ½ months since I had a mould taken to make my prosthetic while others in my amputee support group have had prosthetic legs made in a matter of weeks. I was informed in a call I received after a made a complaint that “it just takes longer to get upper limb parts”. I don’t feel that’s reasonable that upper limb amputees are forced to wait a much longer period for a prosthesis and if these parts take longer then why can WestMARC not have some in stock to alleviate the suffering that the waiting period causes?

As I said I have now been waiting almost 3 ½ months now for my prosthetic, I had an appointment last week to finally receive it. After the delays waiting on parts and the 6 weeks for a test socket to be made with no explanation as to why this took so long I was beyond excited to be finally able to start the next step in my recovery. I cannot put into words how I felt when trying on my prosthetic to find it was far too small and would not fit on my residual limb no matter how many adjustments were made in an attempt to get it to fit. That fragile mental health that had been chipped away at by WestMARC was shattered and has left me absolutely broken.

The whole process has to be started from the very beginning now, yet my return appointment for the whole new prosthetic to be made and collect is next week (I will believe it when I see it)

If they can make a whole new prosthetic for me in just 13 DAYS then explain why I waited 6 WEEKS alone just for a test socket? There is something far far wrong and needs looked at to spare someone else the trauma I have been put through.