Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the relationship between podiatry and better health outcomes, including for those with diabetes; and on what evidence that assessment is based.

The Government recognises that podiatry is important for people’s physical and mental wellbeing. Regular foot care allows people to remain active and independent. It also offers alerts to early signs of other more serious health issues such as poor circulation and ulcers which is especially important for people who have diabetes.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that people with diabetes have regular examinations to assess individual risk, and those at increased risk are referred to a member of a foot protection team for long-term surveillance. In addition NICE recommends that all people with diabetes have their foot risk assessed on admission to hospital for any reason; and any person with diabetes who has newly occurring foot disease be referred for urgent assessment by a member of a specialist multidisciplinary team.

The National Audit Office report The management of adult diabetes services in the NHS published in May 2012, confirms that foot care examination is one of the basic care processes for people with diabetes, to be delivered annually to provide early recognition and management of risk factors that can prevent or delay the development of ulcers which can lead to amputations.