Best foot forward: community perspectives of podiatry services in Westminster

This project was developed by Healthwatch Westminster and Healthwatch RBKC in collaboration with Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (CLCH). CLCH wanted to understand the high rates of appointment non-attendance that they were observing across their Northwest podiatry services. Their data showed that between November 2021 and October 2022 the average non-attendance rate was 7.7%. The aim of this project was to understand the factors causing non-attendance.

Healthwatch Westminster and RBKC designed the community engagement plan. This involved visiting CLCH podiatry clinics to meet with patients. In addition, the two Healthwatch held a series of community forums. Participation was not restricted, however the project particularly focused engagement on at-risk groups identified by CLCH: middle aged men, people on low income, and Pakistani, Caribbean and Black African ethnic groups. In total, 45 people engaged with the project between March and June 2023.

The research found a significant unmet need in terms of podiatry care, especially amongst older people. The primary barriers included low awareness of podiatry services, difficulty schedule and rescheduling appointments and disjointedness in the referral process.

The report makes four recommendations.

1. Streamline the referral process
2. Increase flexibility in scheduling and rescheduling podiatry appointments
3. Promote awareness of podiatry services and the importance of foot health
4. Carry out more clinical outreach and engagement about foot health in the community.