Podiatry is an area of specialist healthcare that focuses on the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of abnormal conditions of the feet and lower limbs.
Demand for the podiatry service in Calderdale is growing, and we need to make some changes to ensure that local health needs are met, both now and in the future.
There are clear criteria to help decide which patients are in most need of clinical podiatry services, and those who are not eligible. At the moment, these criteria are not consistently applied across Calderdale, which means that people have different levels of access to podiatry services
To ensure that those people with the greatest need for podiatry receive it in a timely manner, and to effectively use the resources we have, we need to make sure that clear criteria to identify those who are in the most need of clinical podiatry services, and those who are not eligible, are applied consistently. This may mean that some patients will no longer be eligible for podiatry services.
Ensuring that appropriate criteria is used to access the podiatry service will improve the service for patients that need them most by:
• Reducing wait times for appointments
• Providing safer care by being able to see the patients who need the service more often
• Increasing the quality of care by providing more specialist care, such as wound management
• Providing better support and information to enable people to care for their own feet and prevent future problems
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on treatments and care for people using the NHS. NICE guidance recommends that services for clinical foot care related to certain long-term conditions should be available on the NHS. This guidance that tells us who should receive podiatry treatment.
In the new service, people with no significant podiatry need, or low-risk feet would not receive services funded by the NHS. These patients include those with verrucae, dry skin, fungal infections, and those requiring personal cares, such as nail cutting.
Further information on the proposed changes, including answers to frequently asked questions, is available to read on our dedicated leaflet. Copies of the leaflet are also available in our podiatry clinics.
We welcome the views of patients, their carers and families about how these changes might impact them. An online survey can be completed, or you can ask for a paper copy of the survey in any of our podiatry clinics.
