Checked: 15-02-2024 by
Vicky Ryan Next Review: 13-02-2026
Overview
Diabetes Foot Care
Please see the Diabetes - Foot Care page for local pathway information including Hot foot referrals.
All Other Podiatry Services
*****UPDATE 16.2.24 Due to ongoing limited capacity within the Podiatry service, waiting times will vary. All patients who meet referral criteria will be triaged and prioritised depending on their urgency.*******
The Sirona Podiatry Service provides a specialist role in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of foot problems for those registered with a GP in BNSSG.
Access to this service is for adults with medical conditions which puts the lower limb at ‘high risk’ of complications. High risk is defined as ‘people that have a foot problem combined with an underlying medical condition that is affecting the circulation and/or sensation in the lower leg or foot which may put them at risk of hospitalisation and/or amputation.’
Self Care
Self-care advice can resources are available from the Sirona podiatry leaflet library.
Podiatry Service
Referral Criteria - Referral criteria for Sirona Podiatry services
Patients must be registered with a BNSSG GP and adults (unless otherwise stated below) and have one or more of the following inclusion criteria:
- Wound / Ulceration/ tissue loss below the ankle
- Suspected wound under callus
- Diabetes at active and high risk (according to NICE NG19) - see Diabetes - Foot Care page.
- Patients whose foot is at high risk of ulceration/tissue loss/amputation/hospitalisation due to complex medical need.
- Ingrown toenails causing localised tissue damage – requiring nail surgery, including adults and children aged 7 and above.
Exclusion criteria:
Nail Cutting
A nail cutting service is only available to patients if there is a medical and podiatric risk. Routine nail cutting is not undertaken. (Please see Private services tab below for information on how to find a Registered Chiropodist/ Podiatrist).
Toe Nail Surgery
For information on how to manage Ingrown toenails please see the Ingrown Toenail page. Sirona podiatry service offers partial /total nail avulsions for children (7 years and above) and adults with ingrown toenails that are causing localised tissue damage and assessed as suitable for this procedure.
Foot and Ankle MSK Conditions
Assessment and management of MSK foot & ankle problems relating to biomechanical joint dysfunction and associated soft tissue symptoms is not undertaken by the community podiatry service. Please refer to the MSK Foot & Ankle Service page.
Advice and Guidance
Sirona delivers a podiatry advice telephone line and email service, staffed Monday to Friday, 8.30-16.30 by a senior podiatrist.
Patients looking for advice and guidance can contact one of the patient enquiry lines below.
If you are a clinician please either use the clinician advice line or email.
Referrals
Patients meeting the referral criteria stated above should be referred via EMIS managed referrals using the Podiatry Service Referral Form (the form launches in EMIS when completing a managed referral).
Referrals will be triaged and prioritised and patients offered a choice of locations across BNSSG for their assessment and treatment: For full list of locations and contact details see the Sirona website: Podiatry Service – Sirona care & health NHS services.
How to find a Chiropodist/ Podiatrist Services for care not covered by the Sirona Service
How to find a HCPC Registered Chiropodist/ Podiatrist in your area
A chiropodist/podiatrist has to be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) to be able to practice in the NHS or privately in the UK.
If you have access to the internet or a family member who does, you can visit the College of Podiatry’s website www.rcpod.org.uk where you can find your nearest podiatrist by entering your postcode on the ‘find a podiatrist’ page. If you need further assistance with this tool you can call them on 020 7234 8620
To confirm that a podiatrist is on the HCPC register visit their website www.hcpc-uk.org or by telephone on: 0300 500 6184
Foot Health Practitioners
Foot health practitioners are not governed by the HCPC but can provide routine maintenance for the uncomplicated foot.
To find a foot health practitioner in your area type ‘foot health practitioner’ and the area you live, into an internet search engine. There is no central contact.
If you want to check that a foot health practitioner is a member of the accredited register of foot health practitioners you can visit www.foothealthpractitionerregister.co.uk or telephone 01765 676417
Resources / self-help leaflets
Foot care advice
For advice on basic nail care and foot care please follow the link to Sirona website’s leaflet library where you can access leaflets and videos from sources approved by Sirona care & health Sirona Podiatry resource library.
Efforts are made to ensure the accuracy and agreement of these guidelines, including any content uploaded, referred to or linked to from the system. However, BNSSG ICB cannot guarantee this. This guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer, in accordance with the mental capacity act, and informed by the summary of product characteristics of any drugs they are considering. Practitioners are required to perform their duties in accordance with the law and their regulators and nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.
Information provided through Remedy is continually updated so please be aware any printed copies may quickly become out of date.
