Information

What Is a Podiatrist?

A Podiatrist is a highly skilled health professional (foot specialist) trained to diagnose and treat disorders, diseases and deformities of the feet and lower limbs. They are qualified to treat people with arthritis, diabetes, nail surgery and sports injuries etc. They work with people of all ages and play a particularly important role in helping people stay mobile and independent.

A podiatrist is a highly trained foot and lower limb expert who is degree qualified with a wider range of practice than that undertaken by a chiropodist although there is no qualification available in chiropody.

Podiatrists still maintain the core skills of nails callous corns etc which have always been well known by the public with added treatments such as pain relieving injections, minor surgery for skin and nails, bespoke prescribing of insoles with bio-mechanical assessments to find the underlying cause, assessing neurological and circulatory aspects, and giving lots of advice for foot and lower limb health.

They are up to date with all hygienic procedures to stop cross contamination, as very expensive equipment is used to make sure that all instruments used are all sterilized to proper requirements.

Autoclaves are serviced twice a year and required to run at 134 degrees for 3 mins at bar 2.

A fresh set of instruments is used for each patient with certain items such as blades, files, rasps all being single use.  Some times it is necessary for all equipment to be single use.

Clinical waste management is also undertaken.

What Are the Qualifications of a Podiatrist?

Podiatrists are the most qualified doctors to care for your feet. They complete four years of training in a podiatric medical school and three years of hospital residency training. This training is similar to that of other doctors.

Podiatrists can specialize in many fields, including surgery, sports medicine, wound care, pediatrics (children), and diabetic care.