Want to develop your podiatry services within your organisation? Here’s how.
CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on NHS Employers
Podiatrists prevent, diagnose, and treat problems affecting the foot, ankle and leg. They see patients with a range of conditions that require medical, surgical, or palliative intervention, or rehabilitation and preventative care.
Podiatrists play an essential role in managing general health conditions, including a range of systemic conditions that can affect the lower limb.
Podiatry in the NHS
In the NHS, podiatry is one of the 14 allied health professions. Podiatrists play a vital role in supporting services in the NHS, with a range of roles in primary, secondary, and community care. They can work as part of a larger multidisciplinary team, or independently in community clinics.
Some podiatrists work as first contact practitioners in primary care and help minimise the pressure on general practitioners and other healthcare professionals. By undertaking additional training, podiatrists can become advanced practitioners specialising in a specific area of practice.
Integrating podiatry into your service
You may not have a podiatry service in your organisation, or you may wish to recruit more podiatrists to add to your existing workforce. Either way, building a strong business case for your plans will help ensure board-level commitment from the outset.
Building an effective business case
NHS England expects demand for podiatrists to increase by nine per cent between 2023 and 2025 to meet core service and provider demands, and by 19% across all services. Outline the consequences to patient care if this demand is not met, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan.
Use your own workforce data, latest statistics, as well as external information on the benefits of employing podiatrists in your trust or service. RCPod released Saks report (2021) to help you, which outlines the benefits of podiatry in the NHS.
Transforming your existing podiatry service
Identify areas for improvement and create an action plan
Transforming your workforce can be challenging but can ensure a better service for your patients and the podiatry workforce in the long term. The first step is understanding how your current service is performing, what works well and areas for improvement. It can mean reviewing your service in full. This involves looking at your data, resources, processes, and performance in detail.
Employers should connect with relevant stakeholders to gather the information to build a business case for change and create a carefully considered action plan. Since transformations often involve major organisational change, they should be carefully planned and executed to minimise any negative impact on staff and patient care.
Engage your leaders and staff
Having strong leadership and decision makers on board is essential in driving the change. These people can help secure the required funding, resources and address any setbacks along the way.
Leaders also play an important role in regularly communicating and reassuring employees while being honest and transparent about any challenges. When employees are consulted and feel involved in the process, leaders are likely to get a better response.
Podiatry in primary care
In primary care settings, podiatrists can add value as first contact practitioners (FCPs) or advanced practitioners. Both are integral to creating sustainability within podiatry services in primary care. The FCP role aims to support GPs in integrated care systems by being a triage service to optimise the patient care pathway and ensure patients are seen by the right clinician in the right place at the right time.
Advanced practitioners in podiatry can provide specialist knowledge in a subject area of interest, and are clinicians educated to Masters level.
There are resources available to help you build a career and training pathway for clinicians moving into FCP and advanced practitioner roles. This approach creates a pipeline of registered podiatrists, ensuring the right level of practice, and helps to retain podiatrists in primary care.
NHS England’s road map to FCP and advanced practitioner roles provides a step-by-step guide to developing both these roles. Employers can use this information to help build pathways to develop their podiatry teams from level 6 to level 7 and beyond, targeting training and development opportunities.
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