NHS Forth Valley – Service Information

Service information – 06/09/22

First appointments will be offered as a telephone call or Near Me video call. If a patient has a wound or an infection a face-to-face appointment will be arranged.

Patients waiting for a return appointment will be contacted for review and appointed in line with Forth Valley Podiatry Departments Referral & Discharge Policy.

Patients who are known to the podiatry team and develop a wound or infection, please contact the department on 01324 567950.

Patients who have not been seen by the podiatry team before and have a foot issue or wound, please contact GP practice or other health care provider in the first instance, they will refer you to the podiatry team if required.

Our service

We provide specialist treatment which includes:

Acute podiatric wound care
Diabetic foot care of the at-risk foot
Treatment of chronic foot problems due to systemic health conditions
Treatment of in-growing toenails at risk of infection/with infection
Musculoskeletal Podiatry Treatment (functional and structural issues of the foot and ankle)

The Podiatry Team aims are:

To provide an effective person-centred service: working together with other care providers and service users to promote patient wellbeing.
Care is delivered in line with evidence based best practice.
To support service users (and carers/family members where indicated) to make informed decisions.
To provide early intervention for foot and lower limb problems and where possible enable people to maintain their own foot health and mobility.
To prevent deterioration of long-term conditions and prevent hospital admissions and surgery due to leg and foot complications.

Our service is provided throughout the Forth Valley in the following settings:

Community health centres
Community hospitals
Forth Valley Royal Hospital
Care homes
Domiciliary visits (for those strictly housebound)

As many older people are fit and healthy, and in common with all other NHS Services access to this service is not age related.

NHS Forth Valley does not provide a toenail cutting service; this is classed as personal foot care.

Referral to service

Referrals to the service can be made by GPs, Community Nurses, AHPs and other healthcare professionals. All referrals will be triaged by a podiatrist. Referrals that meet the access criteria will be offered an initial appointment where their podiatry needs will be assessed.

Many people only require a short course of treatment or advice to enable them to improve their foot condition.

We offer a Podiatry service for NHS Staff. If you suffer from painful feet and would like to be seen, please complete the form on the podiatry Staff Intranet page.