UKC

Is any one here a Podiatrist or know anything about it? My Father needs to see one and I have been looking at private ones as well as what might be available on the NHS. However, I am getting confused with several different professional bodies and accreditations.

The NHS has a list of ones in your area that are all from ‘The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists’. Elsewhere on the site they also list 2 other organisations;

British Chiropody and Podiatry Association
The Institute of Chiropodists and Podiatrists

The most convenient one that I have found so far is from British Chiropody and Podiatry Association

However, looking at the organisation’s website it says that most of its members are trained at one college that it owns? The only qualifications the one near me lists come from being a member of this organisation.

My Father has some serious problems with his feet and I want him to see someone who really knows what they are doing.

Can any one make sense of these different organisations and what I should be looking for when selecting a practitioner?

In reply to BigBrother:

Podiatrists should be registered with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC). It's a public register that you can easily find on line. If they are on it they will be professionally registered....

In reply to BigBrother:
I have been using bespoke orthotics since 1993. They were made by an NHS Podiatrist called Mr Ian Pinder. Without the insoles/orthotics I would have severe knee pain and over time would have pain walking up stairs let alone hills.

Sadly my insoles gave up the ghost last year and I went back to the NHS podiatrist to make me some new ones. Unfortunately Mr Pinder had left the NHS and went private and I was not happy with the service given to me by the NHS podiatrist. They just stickytaped some plastic to the insoles to raise them up. Disgraceful!

last year I went back to Mr Pinder who made me two new sets at £150 a pair. Yes its a lot of money however what good is money if your health suffers and your quality of life is reduced all for the sake of a modest sum of money?

If you live in Lancashire or can get to Lancashire then I can heartily recommend Mr Ian Pinder. The chap even remembered me from our last meeting in 1993 and, over the phone could describe the colour and materials used in my insoles.

Can not rate him high enough and the benefits of a good podiatrist to assess the biomechanical way a person walks.

In reply to The Lemming:

There's a really good sports podiatry /gait analysis /physio clinic in the Stoke / Leek area I can recommend if anyone needs the details.

In reply to The Lemming:

I'm awaiting my first set of orthotics from optimotion in Camden. They are primarily to treat Morton's neuroma, but a couple of other biomechanical adjustment's are also being added based on how I walk and the wear on my shoes.