Proposed changes to podiatry services in South Tyneside

Healthwatch South Tyneside was commissioned by the local ICB to undertake engagement to ensure that podiatry patients could feed into a new proposed service model.  They gathered people's views via a survey and by visiting podiatry clinic locations. 89 people took part.

The overriding themes from the survey participants included: 

Wanting continuity of care with the same podiatrist 

Concerns that a move to self-care would lead to increased problems, with patients not having the knowledge to spot things early. Many patients were not averse to a single provider or a move towards self-care, but wanted to know how this would work in practice. It will need to be stressed that the self-care agenda is designed to prioritise services for those who need them most, and that those who could not self-care due to age or disability would not be expected to do so. Making clear that an initial assessment would always be carried out by a podiatrist prior to tutorials in self-care (for those patients able to manage this) will help assuage concerns. Confirming the range of appropriate foot care products and aids that would be provided for self-care would also be helpful. 

Accessibility – having less venues and potentially needing to travel further for treatment/the related expense if there was not direct public transport. Venues for consultations and treatment with good public transport links would aid accessibility for the many service users without private transport.

Management of the service/move to a single provider less of an issue; more the potential knock-on effect if this affected continuity of care.

Clear communication will be key to the success of changes to podiatry services.