'I've been in hospital so long they ask for Christmas dinner order'

It has become a standing joke for amputee David Taylor that staff at the hospital where he has been a patient for five months will ask him for his Christmas dinner order.

The 56-year-old has been in Pontefract Hospital in West Yorkshire since mid-December - and remains there despite being medically fit for discharge.

Medics treating him say they won't be surprised if he is still on the wards during the festive season.

David, from nearby Knottingley, has become an unwilling "bed blocker" because his housing provider cannot find suitable accommodation for the wheelchair he now needs to use.

He lost his leg after being diagnosed with life-threatening sepsis, and now says he has been "left to rot".

He has been living in a side-room off a ward and when he meets the BBC in a park near the hospital with his wife Kerry, it is the first time he has properly been outdoors since his admission.

He and Kerry have been left distressed by the amount of time housing association Vico Homes has taken to find them an appropriate new tenancy through the online portal it runs.

"What it must be costing the NHS is unreal – and the standing joke in the hospital is 'what do you want for your Christmas dinner' because the way things are going, I will be in here for Christmas."

It is the latest upset in what has been a traumatic six months for the couple.

It was in November 2024 that David first became seriously unwell.

A chest infection developed into sepsis and several "blue blobs" began appearing on one of his legs.

He needed five emergency operations at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield to save his life, including the amputation of his left leg below the knee.

In December 2024 he was moved to Pontefract Hospital to continue his recovery and the following month was told he could go home.

But he couldn't leave because an inspection of his property found the doors and hallway were too narrow for his wheelchair.

David tells me that being separated from Kerry and his family for so long has been badly affecting his mental health, which was fragile even before his illness.

"I'm just in my room crying my eyes out," he says.

"Kerry's brought some pictures in for me to look at the grandkids and herself, just to try and lighten my mood, but it's getting very dark.

"I honestly can't see no end," he says.

The BBC first reported on David's predicament six weeks ago, but the couple say they are no further forward.

They have been applying for three houses each week through Vico Homes, which was formerly known as Wakefield District Housing, with no success.

He was offered a place in supported accommodation in January but turned it down because he wants to live independently.

Wakefield Council has a duty, under the Homelessness Act 2002, to find David a suitable home to return to.

David says his dream is to find a simple home where there is some space to "chill out" with Kerry in the fresh air.

But he says at the moment it feels like "more of an uphill struggle" than having his leg amputated.

In a statement Vico Homes said: "We understand that this is a difficult situation for Mr Taylor and his family.

"A number of options have been explored with Mr Taylor that might help him to leave hospital sooner but these haven't met his specific needs.

"We're one of many housing providers in the area looking to support Mr Taylor and his family to find a home, working closely with Wakefield Council."

Just before the couple head back to the hospital, Kerry talks about the strain it has put on their relationship.

"It makes me want to scream and scream and scream," Kerry says.

"It's a good job we love each other, as I don't know how anybody could get through this otherwise," she says, clutching her husband's hand.

She starts crying and says David has suggested she could leave the marriage to make life easier.

"I don't want to, though – he's my baby."

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