WHAT IS A FOOT HEALTH PRACTITIONER (FHP)?
A FHP attends to all common conditions that affect the foot. Treatments include the routine care of nails, the treatment of verruca’s and corns, as well as hard skin and callus. Foot conditions are assessed and treated or referred where necessary.
GPC Foot Clinic is owned and run by Gail Cooke, a qualified Foot Health Practitioner. She trained at the College of Foot Health Practitioners in Birmingham and achieved the Diploma in Foot Health in March 2009.
Since then she has been providing foot health services to clients throughout the borough of Rushcliffe in their own homes, workplaces, nursing and care homes, and has built up a large number of regular clients. A home visit includes the following:
- Toe nail care including toe nail cutting, non-surgical in growing toe nail removal, reduction of thickened toe nails
- Skin care including removal of corns and callus (hard skin), advice on treatment of Verruca and fungal toe nail infections
- General foot care advice, care of the feet for clients with diabetes etc
During the visit she will undertake a medical history and foot assessment before commencing any treatment.
Gail also undertakes regular visits to nursing and care homes. As a FHP she is a registered member of the Alliance of Private Sector Practitioners and the Voluntary Register of Foot Health Practitioners. For an appointment or more details please telephone Gail on 07903 311 891.
I was thinking last night; I passed my driving test after 19 lessons. This equates to less than THREE DAYS practical experience and NO theory training, I could certainly cause more damage with a car than a pair of nail snippers. Yet with 14 years experience now, I consider myself to be an excellent, confident and safe driver. Everyone starts somewhere and grows and develops to become proficient in what they do.
For info: “joint working does not illustrate any part of your argument here” I don’t have an arguement, i’m not arguing.
You seem to have a bee in your bonnet about something. Perhaps you just like arguing. The only point I can see you trying to convey is that you think Foot Health Practitioners are crap and there is only space for people who have trained for a 3 year degree in the industry.
One of the leading FHP training colleges is up for sale, so it seems that there is no market for these type of minimally-trained practitioners any longer
http://www.daltonsbusiness.com/training-centres-for-sale/foot-health-training-college-for-sale-west-midlands-uk/256014
“you think Foot Health Practitioners are crap and there is only space for people who have trained for a 3 year degree in the industry.”
Spot-on Millie !
Stop Press !
The latest news from the Foot Health Training industry is that one of the most well-known Colleges at Blackheath, Birmingham, is up for sale,
http://www.rightbiz.co.uk/buy_business/for_sale/68925_west_midlands.html
it appears that the directors are selling to fit in with their retirement plans and to concentrate on the other part of the business which is selling insurance and CPD to members of a Professional Body ie the Alliance of Private Sector Practitioners.
Anyone who is considering training with this organisation might want to investigate the implications of this on present and future courses offered. Anyone who has insurance with the Alliance might want to make a few enquiries as well.
FHP’s are a joke to say the least, they think they have gone to college to train?????, No the have paid a private BUSSINESS (normally a rented office or shop), not a School or College 3k for a qualification that does not exist. Why is FHP training not recognised by anyone??, you will not get proper employment with it, so why do it?, I wonder!!!
I’m a FHP. Trained at SMAE and making a decent living. I have my own clinic. I’m fully insured. I use an ultrasonic cleaner and vacuum autoclave with individual pouches to prevent cross infection.
Several of my patients visit my clinic after receiving poor treatent by their Podiatrist/Chiropodist or FHP. Many of them have private health insurance but would rather use me as they say they get better treatment.
I treat patients in establishments for the elderly and also people with mental health and behavioural difficulties. In fact ,after being recommended by the manager of one the establishments I visit, I’ve just taken over a home with 24 patients. The visiting Chiropodist used to sit 6 patients in a circle and trim their nails taking about an hour. The manager didn’t think he used fresh instruments for each patient so cross infection was possible. After watching me work on each patient individually, checking for other foot problems, not just nails, she phoned him and said he was no longer needed. And no, I didn’t undercut him, I just provided a better service.
My point is that not all FHP’s are rubbish and all Podiatrist’s/ Chiropodists are not perfect.
Hello, been having a good smile to myself reading the comments! I’m a FHP too and I see so many feet that I drean about them, I can’t even smell them anymore! If i’d of trained for 3 years and had a student loan i’d be annoyed about FHP too! At the end of the day we are both good at our work and there are millions of feet to be done, we won’t run out! If the customer is happy it’s up to them who they give their hard erned money too!
Susan,
Was the Chiropodist you mention reported to the Health Professions Council for practising in an unsafe manner?
I would also be interested to know what clients can do if they are not satisfied with the treatment recieved from an FHP ? Which body do they complain to? As FHPs are not regulated by statute who controls their standards of practice?
It looks like the FHP training college mentioned above has either been sold or taken off the market as the links no longer work.
Is there any FHP out there who would like to answer Fran’s questions about FHP insurance and liability?
Fran
No, they haven’t. I agree with you that he should be reported to the HPC. I did mention reporting him but they said they didn’t want to take it any further as he was no longer involved with the footcare at their care home and refused to give me his details.
You ask about who to complain to. I for one think there should be a body to regulate FHP’s but as you know the HPC won’t become involved although several of their members were trained at the SMAE Institute and not at University. Perhaps the powers that be should bring in more regulation to deal with this anomaly and I’ve heard that people involved with footcare treatment at a high level are pushing for it..
As Natalie says, at the end of the day patients will weigh up their options and then chose who they wish to use, however, if it turns out FHP’s or Chiropodists/ Podiatrists are not treating people in the correct, ethical way then ultimately the HSE and possibly the Courts will decide their fate.
Julia
Obviously I can’t speak for every FHP but I have insurance cover up to £5 million which I assume is the same sort of cover required for Chiropodists/Podiatrists. As for liability see my post above.
Susan,
I understand FHPs have medical malpractice insurance but as far as I am aware it, they are not regulated as they are not registered with the Health Professions Council – http://www.hpc-uk.org so I wonder how they are accountable and what body monitors their standards? The HSE has no interest in either FHPs or Chiropodists. I wonder how an FHP can be prevented from practicing if their standards are poor?
Julia
You asked the question about insurance so hopefully I’ve answered it or do you have a different type of insurance.
Correct me if I’m wrong but doesn’t the HSE cover employers, employees and members of the public and mentions that it is your responsibility to look after yourself and other people who may be affected by your acts or omissions so I assume it covers the foot health industry too.
As far as the liability question is concerned am I correct in assuming from what you are saying that inspectors actually come to your practice and carry out a spot check to see if you are working to their standards, or do they rely on people reporting anyone who thinks those standards haven’t been met. If inspection is not involved then what I’ve mentioned in previous posts still stands in as much as that although people have mentioned malpractice to me they said they didn’t want to take it any further so the HPC doen’t get to know about the problem anyway.
Susan,
The HSE may well cover Health & Safety at work but as most FHPs are mobile and sole traders, then it wouldn’t affect them. So i repeat the question, who sets their standards and who regulates them?
Julia
I for one would be more than happy to be regulated by the HPC but that is for them to accept that FHP’s are not going to disappear and if they really care about foot health they should be proactive in ensuring that all foot health professionals meet the standards and regulations you keep asking me about.
Now I’ve done my best to answer your question as honestly as I can, I will repeat the question I asked you. Does the HPC carry out spot checks on such as yourself. Just because someone has been to University it doesn’t mean they all meet their obligations as the situation I stated above proves.
Julie
On reading some of you older posts I notice you are not very complimentary about FHP’s per se, your reply to Millie for instance, so as a reasoned conversation with you is not possible I will do my best for my patients and leave you and others to their own opinions.
Susan,
It is interesting to see that you are retiring from the discussion now you are losing the argument.
The fact of the matter is that FHPs ARE unregulated (and therefore uncontrolled and unaccountable to a statuatory body) and the Alliance of Private Sector Practitioners ( who insure the majority of them) admits so on their website. A pity you are not prepared to admit this unpalatable reality.
I am not complimentary about them because my experience is that they ARE crap because I spend quite a bit of my clinical time trying to put right their treatment errors.
This is a response to your post from Feb 13th 7.30.pm.
No the HPC does not carry out spot-checks on any Registrant as the that is not within their remit. They are a Regulatory Body not an Inspection Agency.
However, with the new legislation on Instrument Traceability ( already in place in the NHS) moving forward into the private sector, there will soon be ways in which the unregulated sector footcare providers will be made accountable in some areas, and the regulated sector more accountable.
You are aware that working as a Foot Health Practitioner at nursing homes/ care homes is not allowed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in England. The CQC see it as an offence.
Also, Foot Health Practitioners providing foot treatments to individuals who have care packages put in place by CQC regulated organisations, is also not permited by the CQC – the CQC view it as an offence.
The CQC are very adamdent in their “Scope of Registration” document that only Podiatrists/ Chiropodists are allowed to undertake all forms of foot treaments on service-users. That is because they are HPC registered. The CQC do not recognise Foot Health Practioners because they are unregulated.
So now that you told us that you provide foot treatments to nursing homes/ care homes, you are already causing an offence in the CQCs eyes.
Gosh, if you were in a regulated organisation, you would be struck off and not allowed to work as a Foot Health Practitioner.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jessie,
Where is the CQC ruling on this as I can’t locate it ?
Most nursing homes I know of have an FHP visiting – surely they can’t all be breaking the law?
A foot health practitioner is not a chiropodist, that we all know. just as a nursing ass’t, is not a nurse.
and as long as a FHP doesn’t claim to be a chiropodist i don’t see what the problem is
The problem is Lewis, that far too many FHPs hold out to be Chiropodists by advertising in the wrong sections of various publications. They possibly do this out of desperation as no-one has heard of an FHP or knows anything about their training or what they do. Their skill-set is so small the only way they can compete in the market-place is to undercut Chiropodists. They do this very well as they do not need to abide by the rigorous standards set down by the Health Professions Council, http://www.hpc-uk.org and all the additional expense that this entails which is the National Regulator for Allied health Professionals. Many FHPs operate ‘below the radar’ using mobile ‘phones which would make one question their motives for this.
In my opinion FHPs should not be employed by Nursing Homes as the service users there are vulnerable clients with lower limb pathologies who need the experience and skills of a Chiropodist/Podiatrist who has done a 3-year full-time training course, not someone who has trained by distance learning and a couple of weeks practical.