People in Bedfordshire and Luton who are affected by diabetes are set to benefit from new and improved foot care as a result of extra funding provided by NHS England’s Diabetes Treatment and Care Programme.
The Podiatry Service which is provided by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) works with Bedfordshire and Luton CCGs and the acute hospitals to prevent serious diabetic foot complications that can sometimes lead to amputations.
10% of people with diabetes will have a foot ulcer at some point in their lives and diabetes is the most common cause of non-traumatic amputations according to NICE Guidance (NG19).
Early detection of problems with the feet of diabetic patients can prevent serious complications and possible amputations.
The Podiatry Service applied for additional funding for Diabetes Specialist Podiatrists to work across Bedfordshire and Luton with the existing Integrated Community Diabetes Team and a dedicated inpatient Podiatry Service on the hospital wards.
The funding will also mean that there will be more staff in the acute outpatient clinics at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital and Bedford Hospital.
As a result of the funding, the Podiatry Service is able to include a Vascular Surgeon, Vascular Nurse, Podiatrist, Orthopaedic Consultant and Diabetes Consultant. The team plans to employ a Diabetes Specialist Nurse and Plaster Technician.
The Community Podiatry Service will be able to provide:
- Training to members of the primary healthcare team to ensure appropriate referrals and their ability to carry out foot screening, to enable identification of patients with increased risk of foot ulcers and target resources more effectively in order to obtain improved outcomes
- Involvement in structured education and training sessions to educate and empower patients to improve their knowledge and increase confidence and skills
- Develop satisfaction survey for patients to monitor service
- More complex assessments carried out in primary care: Vascular assessment and Neuropathic assessment.
- Encouragement of Primary Care staff to shadow these clinics, to increase their understanding of the diabetic foot, scope and aims of the service.
- Closer working with community and primary care colleagues to ensure they are competent in diabetic foot checks and educated on the referral process, particularly for diabetic foot attack.There will also be dedicated time to develop a foot protection service for high risk diabetics referred in to the podiatry service to try and prevent ulceration developing by reviewing them in line with NICE guidance and offering offloading devices to reduce high pressure areas.