Podiatry

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Podiatrists specialise conditions affecting the foot, ankle and leg, leading the patient through their care journey including prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

What is Podiatry?

Podiatry is the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of conditions affecting the lower limbs. The professionals providing the service are called Podiatrists (formally known as Chiropodists).

All Podiatrists are trained to degree level and are registered with the regulatory body known as the Health Care and Professions Council (HCPC).

Locally, our Podiatrists work in a variety of clinical settings including hospitals, health centres and GP practices.

Purpose of the service

The main purpose of our Podiatry service is to provide a comprehensive service for adults and children. The services we provide include:

  • General podiatry (painful corns, callus and nail pathologies, e.g. ingrown toenails that require nail surgery).
  • Nail surgery
  • Foot and Ankle Clinic (musculoskeletal medicine)
  • Wound management
  • Foot health education

This list is by no means exhaustive. The Podiatry service will offer a foot assessment service for anyone referred to the service with a genuine podiatric need (at this current time Podiatry are not commissioned to provide social nail care).

Exclusions

At this current time, Podiatry is not commissioned/not able to accept referrals to provide social nailcare and so is unable to accept any referrals for routine nail cutting, removal of non-pathological callus/hard skin, verrucae or fungal toe nails.
We would advise a conversation with your local pharmacy to discuss the purchase of over-the-counter treatments for verrucae/fungal toenails or seek advice from a private HCPC registered Podiatrist/Chiropodist.

Self-referrals

The community Podiatry service is only able to accept referrals from persons registered with a Wakefield GP.

The Podiatry service does accept self-referrals from patients requiring nail surgery, musculoskeletal medicine, and wound management for example.

The service does not accept referrals to provide nail cutting, the management of fungal toenails or verrucae for example.

We would ask healthcare professionals with access to SystmOne to complete a referral for the service via this system which is the fastest option.

Podiatry self-referral form for printing:

Podiatry self referral form.pdf [pdf] 110KB

Location of Podiatrists

The Podiatry service is predominantly a community-based service with the majority of clinics held in health centers or GP practices in the Wakefield District.

Patients with diabetes who require input from the diabetes team will be seen at either Pinderfields or Pontefract Diabetes centres. Those that have been deemed to have a musculoskeletal problem will be seen at Normanton Health Centre. Patients with arthropathies who require input from the Rheumatology team may be seen at either Pinderfields, Pontefract or Dewsbury Hospitals.

For general patients registered with a GP in the Dewsbury area, this will require a referral direct to the Locala Podiatry Service.

Contacting the Podiatry service

The Podiatry main reception team are based at Pinderfields Hospital. Their opening hours are:
  • 9am to 4pm Monday - Thursday
  • 9am to 3pm Friday
Direct telephone numbers are 01924 541447, 01924 541448, 01924 541449 and 01924 541452 (lines are closed between 12pm and 1pm).
Useful phone numbers
  • Diabetes Centre, Pinderfields Hospital - 01924 543844
  • Diabetes Centre, Pontefract Hospital - 01977 747930
  • MSK/Rheumatology - 01924 327909

Locations of service delivery

We deliver a range of Podiatric services offering specialist advice and/or treatments from a number of community health centres and GP practice locations within the Wakefield district.

These include:

  1. Outpatient appointments at Pinderfield and Pontefract Hospitals for patients with active Diabetic foot ulcerations.
  2. Podiatry Rheumatology outpatient clinics at Pinderfield, Pontefract and Dewsbury Hospitals. 
  3. A Foot and Ankle Clinic for adults and children located at Normanton Health Centre.
  4. Nail surgery: This service is currently delivered from Ossett Health Village and Pontefract Health Centre.
  5. A number of general Podiatry clinics are delivered from local health centres and GP practices in the Wakefield district.      

Wakefield community clinic locations include:

  • Trinity Medical Centre
  • Ossett Health Village
  • Chapelthorpe Health centre
  • Maybush Medical Centre
  • Chapelthorpe Medical Centre
  • Outwood Park Medical Centre
  • Stanley Health Centre
  • Middlestown Medical Practice
  • Sharlston Medical Centre

Other locations to the eastern side of Wakefield include:

  • Castleford Health Centre
  • Kings Medical Centre
  • Normanton Health Centre
  • Church View Health Centre in South Elmsall
  • Pontefract Health Centre
  • The Grange Medical Centre
  • Pinfold Lane Surgery
  • Rycroft Primary Care Centre
  • College Lane Surgery
  • Featherstone Health Centre
  • Ash Grove Medical Centre

How to access podiatry services in the Wakefield District area

Patient access is via a referral from a registered NHS healthcare professional. For example:

  • GP (located within the Wakefield District)
  • Consultant
  • Specialist nurses, i.e. Rheumatology and Diabetes nurse specialists
  • District nurse
  • Practice nurse
  • School nurses
  • Health visitors
  • Physiotherapist (employed by MYTT)
  • Occupational Therapist (employed by MYTT)

Alternatively, self-referrals can be accepted directly from prospective patients. Patients must be registered with a Wakefield GP in order to be eligible to submit a self-referral for assessment/treatment by the Mid Yorkshire Teaching Trust Community Podiatry service.

Conditions we treat

Our service provides specialist advice and treatment of a variety of problems affecting the foot. This includes:

  1. Nail surgery - the removal of toe nails which is performed under a local anaesthetic.
  2. Treatment of a range of dermatological conditions including corns and calluses.
  3. Treatment of foot problems that develop as a result of other medical conditions, e.g. Diabetes, peripheral vascular disease (circulation problem), rheumatoid arthritis.

Patients can be referred for the diagnosis, advice and/or management of a variety of foot and ankle pathologies.

For example:

  • Adults: Tendinopathies, joint and soft tissue problems.
  • Children: Problems identified in gait (walking) development, e.g. flat foot, severs disease.
  • Pathological nails: thickened toe nails and ingrowing toe nails.
  • Wound management affecting the foot.  

We do not however provide routine nail care for medically fit patients or social nailcare.

What our patients say

The whole experience was great from start to finish, very professional, made you feel very comfortable.

The assessment of my foot was very thorough. A diagnosis was made and I was given a support for my foot which immediately reduced the pain, allowing me to walk.

Links to other services

Podiatrists work both independently and as part of a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT), e.g. Diabetes.

Onward referrals/links to other services

As part of your treatment journey, you may be referred directly or via your GP for additional tests, e.g. X-rays, ultrasound.

or

To other services/healthcare professionals, e.g. a Podiatric Surgeon, Rheumatology Podiatrist or Physiotherapy if needed.