A man waiting for triple bypass heart surgery has been declared fit to work by the Department of Work and Pensions - surviving on just £80 a week.
Konrad Zastawny, 55, from Sheffield, has coronary artery disease which leaves him short of breath on some days and unable to move on others.
Doctors have told him he is unfit to work until he has had the six hour operation - scheduled for next month - which will see surgeons move blood vessels from elsewhere in his body to his five blocked arteries.
However, the job centre said he does not qualify for disability support.
He is now living on £317 per month in Universal Credit payments that doesn’t cover half of his share of the mortgage and bills at a house he shares with a friend.
DWP is now reviewing his case in light of new medical information he has provided.
Konrad said: "Doctors have told me I have triple vessel heart disease, I have five blocked arteries and three of them are severely blocked and that I am not fit to work.
"I get tired very easily and, if I went for a job interview, I wouldn't be able to guarantee to an employer I would be able to get into work on time every day or be able to cope with the demands of the job.
"I certainly wouldn't be able to stack shelves for eight hours a day, for example. I worked in a warehouse for a while, I couldn't do that now until I've had my heart operation.”
Konrad claims DWP has ‘overwritten’ his doctor’s notes, telling him there are job roles he can do and that he does not ‘have limited capacity’.
DWP's decision could be the result of a mistake made in the job centre. Konrad gave eight pages of medical evidence to the job centre staff who he watched scanning in the paperwork. But the DWP has informed him they never received the medical evidence, leading the organisation to believe he is fit to work.
He added: "It now seems they are going after the disabled, I don't know what kind of country we are living in.
"The individual people I have been dealing with are not bad people, but the system isn't working for me and it's not working for other people."
Konrad quit work last year to take care of his elderly mother who is suffering from dementia.
When he was looking to return to work, he was struck down by bouts of tiredness and went to see doctors, who diagnosed him with five blocked arteries and high blood pressure .
He applied for a job in a bank, but was told he was not suitable for the job because of the upcoming operation.
Konrad, a former civil servant, first applied for help from the DWP in August after an Angiogram X-ray confirmed the heart disease.
He attended an incapacity assessment at the job centre in October but, after a seven week wait, he was finally told he does not qualify for disability payments.
For now, Konrad is being supported by a friend who is lending him cash to pay for urgent outgoings.
He added: "I have to borrow money from my friend every month to pay for bills and to cover the cost of living.
"If my friend wasn't so helpful I would have had to sell my half of the house or re-mortgage.
"Do we live in a country where if you're seriously ill, they'll save your life but you'll get into thousands of pounds worth of debt because you can't work?
"Even though I am quite a robust chap, it has affected me.
Konrad has supplied the DWP with more medical evidence and has been told his case will be considered by a decisions officer.
A spokesperson for the DWP said: "We are currently reviewing Mr Zastawny's claim taking into account new information he has provided."
