A FORMER builder who says a chronic back problem has destroyed his sex life has lost an appeal to receive sickness benefits.
Mark Staves, 54, took the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to a tribunal after it ruled he was not entitled to sickness benefits.
He says his weekly benefits have been cut by £30 a week and he is now living on the basic rate of Jobseeker's Allowance, which is £72 a week.
But despite doctors diagnosing "significant degenerative changes" in his spine, Mr Staves lost the tribunal last week.
In its ruling, the tribunal accepted he had back problems and depression, but said the extent of his limitations were insufficient to qualify for benefits.
Mr Staves, of Fitzroy Street, off Beverley Road, said: "I am struggling. I have to borrow money now and again and I cannot even get a bus to see my sons.
"I haven't got the confidence to get a girlfriend. I can't even physically carry out the functions to have sex because it's too painful."
Mr Staves said he hurt his back after jumping off a fence in 1998, jarring his spine, and had to give up his work as a builder.
He said doctors initially said there was nothing wrong with him and friends had suggested the problem was "in his head".
In February, he was declared fit to work by Atos, a firm that carries out work capability assessments on behalf of DWP.
But a letter sent to Mr Staves in June, from a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Castle Hill Hospital, said X-rays showed he is suffering from "significant degenerative changes" in his spine and has "long-standing chronic S1 radiculopathy" – a disorder of the spinal nerve root in the lower back.
Mr Staves, who was a builder for 17 years, said he wants to appeal the tribunal's decision.
"They said I can walk so I'm not disabled," said Mr Staves. "I am in permanent pain. I'm very close to being in a wheelchair."
A spokesman for Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We are unable to comment on the details of Mr Staves' case for reasons of patient confidentiality, however, we are disappointed that he has not felt able to raise what appears to be long-standing concerns with us earlier.
"To date, we have not received any contact from him that would enable us to look at the issues surrounding his care further.
"We would, therefore, encourage him to speak with us directly."
