The Podiatry profession in the UK is subject to careful monitoring and regulation. These systems are in place to protect the public from sub-standard levels of care, and to ensure that practitioners always know to which standards they should be working to.
Qualification and registration with authorities like the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) are important regulatory steps, but beyond that there are further steps that can be taken to ensure the very highest level of care provision. These include, for example, the process of practice accreditation, which is often utilised by both private and NHS podiatric practices.
Other healthcare professions apart from Podiatry also seek out practice accreditation and so do many insurance companies as it is a sign of “Best Practice”
When a patient is looking for a private practice one of their major concerns will be whether or not they will be getting a sufficiently high level of care? Practice accreditation can offer the guarantee that a practice has been reviewed by an appropriate regulatory authority, The College of Podiatry, to ensure that its services meet certain criteria. Ultimately what accreditation offers is peace of mind for patients.
To become accredited a practice needs to abide by particular standards outlined by the College of Podiatry (COP) and these encompass everything from the qualifications podiatrists possess to health and safety guidelines and practice policies.
Accreditation is completely voluntary, unlike registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). It is important not to confuse the two as the latter is absolutely compulsory if a podiatrist wants to practice legally in the UK. Membership and accreditation from the COP is voluntary.
Important guidelines offered by the COP that need to be adhered to for successful accreditation include standards of:
We recognise at Lindsey Ebbs Podiatry that choosing the right Podiatrist for you is difficult and to also to recognise the difference between Foot-health Practitioners, Assistant Podiatrists and Podiatrists?
It’s very simple with Practice Accreditation, it is only awarded to Podiatry Clinics that reach that high level of care that the College of Podiatry insist on. Giving you the assurance that you are in the right place.
If you would like more information about practice accreditation then please contact us on 01947 820319 or email us at info@footcheck.co.uk.
Hello, I am Lindsey a 56-year-old podiatrist and this has been my life in the last couple of years during the pandemic...
Over the past few years, the most common problem we see in clinic, involving children, would most definitely be heel pain. This could be present when playing sport, or after participating in other forms of strenuous activity...
The Achilles tendon connects the calf muscles to the back of the heel, it is considered to be strongest tendon in the body and its movement helps you step up on your toes, run and jump...
`COVID- toes` is a symptom of contracting Covid-19, it can present in any age group, across all continents and in a full range of skin types. Although it tends to be more common in children and young adults...
Uneven leg length is quite common, and often a few millimeters is not going to cause major problem, and probably will go unnoticed. However, for some even a small limb length difference can cause problems in the hips, back and neck...
We all know children grow a lot over the school holidays and more often than not you need to buy new uniforms and new school shoes in August before they start in September...
In netball and basketball there is a tremendous amount of pressure that is put on the foot, ankle, knees and hips. This can occur at the highest level or even when playing socially...
Pain is pain… right? Sadly not, pain is a complicated subject but simply put, it can be separated into two categories; Acute and Chronic pain. There is one noticeable difference between the two and that is the amount of time that the pain has been around?
Shockwave Therapy has become one of the most effective ways to treat chronic lower limb pain, t was originally developed to treat Kidney Stones (Lithotripsy), as an alternative treatment to surgery...
This may sound like an odd title, but this is how I refer to the most common foot condition we see in clinic, which is Heel Pain. Did you realise there are over 40 causes of heel pain, the most common one that is known about is Plantar fasciitis, which is inflammation of the soft tissues on the bottom of the foot...
The Podiatry profession in the UK is subject to careful monitoring and regulation. These systems are in place to protect the public from sub-standard levels of care, and to ensure that practitioners always know to which standards they should be working to.
There can be many reasons for this, but a common one we see at Lindsey Ebbs Podiatry is a lack of understanding on what makes one shoe better than another and not knowing when a shoe has passed its used by date and should be replaced.
Pressure gait analysis gives a detailed insight into the forces impacting on the foot when walking or running. This information allows us to identify areas of the foot that maybe under a higher pressure load which over time can cause pain, injury, fractures and pressure ulcers of the skin.
At the Foot Hub Whitby, we treat a lot of patients with shin soreness, and it doesn’t matter if they’re a seasoned professional sports person or a weekend warrior.
Perhaps you have been told by a friend, a concerned family member, or a health professional that you have a heel spur but they can only be guessing!
The insoles are a clever innovative piece of equipment that can quantify the movement of the body with different mobility disorders such as neurological, orthopaedic, age related or sporting injuries...
I have been using a laser in practice for 25 years now and have long realised the great outcomes that can be achieved by them, so after extensively researching the Class 4 MLS laser, which is quite unique to other class 4 lasers in that it doesn’t emit heat, I realised this was the laser I wanted to upgrade to...
Preparing for a marathon or a half marathon takes dedication and a lot of time, applying these simple tips can make the experience a more positive one...
Many people think they have ingrowing toenails when in fact what they have are involuted (curved) or thickened nails...
Dogs have always been a large part of my life, I have never known a time without a dog from being a small child through to an adult, after having my own children and working full time...
Infection control is something Podiatrists alongside all the medical profession take very seriously. Reducing the transmission of microorganisms like bacteria, viruses and fungal infections...
Is muscle memory a thing? Yes, it is! Not that we have mini brains in our muscles as the brain is definitely located in the head! But there is no doubt that our muscles remember movement...
Verrucae are caused by infection in the skin from the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). They are often harmless and can disappear on their own, but sometimes...
(from Podiatrists who were at the finish line)
Fascial is a band or sheet of three-dimensional connective tissue, primarily made of collagen it surrounds every tissue, muscle, tendon, nerves, blood vessels and organs of the body...
Winter time can be quite harsh on the feet, they go from a warm centrally heated houses to artic conditions outside, which takes...
This is the most common heel pain complaint we see in clinic. It is an inflammatory condition of the plantar fascia caused...
Human papilloma virus (HPV) is the cause of warts and verrucae, they can appear anywhere on the skin but are mostly seen...