Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help equip the NHS workforce to meet future increased patient need for treatment for diabetic foot complications.

The General Medical Council and Healthcare Professions Council ensure that graduates are equipped with the skills required to treat patients who come to seek help. It is for individual NHS Employers to ensure that NHS staff have the up to date skills they need to treat patients referred for treatment.

Health Education England published in September 2021 “The Standards for the Foot Health Workforce”. Amendments were made to the Standards following the consultation and the final version of the Standards, alongside the consultation findings, were published in May 2022.

The Foot Health Standards are part of work that aims to increase the supply of podiatrists in the NHS while expanding the role of the support workforce. The Standards will ensure that the NHS recognises the knowledge and skills of the wider foot health support workforce.