The Cost of Routine Foot Care

Footcare is an essential part of keeping our feet healthy. We are used to doing it for other parts of our body – cleaning our teeth, brushing our hair, applying face & hand creams etc. But how many of us spend time caring for our feet? Just like with those other body parts, if we don’t look after our feet then they potentially will cause us problems. Footcare is something we can and should do for ourselves unless there are problems and we need assistance. Fortunately for those who struggle to reach their feet or have medical issues (such as poor circulation or immune-compromised) that could mean it is possibly dangerous for self-care of them, then there are people who can help.

Many The differences between Podiatrists, Chiropodists, Foot Health Practitioners / Professionals and others that treat feet in the UK offer “routine” foot care services to patients. In the trade we know this as “cut & come again chiropody” as it needs repeating every so often just like having haircuts. However, there is no real risk to you with a haircut, but there are significant possible risks with footcare that make it far from “routine” hence the use of speechmarks. Those risks include infection, ulceration, amputation, even death, and that’s why it’s important that whoever helps to look after your feet has the ability to assess your risk status and provides the appropriate care to manage your risks (including referring on for more specialist care if required). So when looking at the costs of “routine” footcare we really should include the costs of what happens when things go wrong with that care. However that is a vast range due to the variability of outcomes, so instead we will look at the costs associated with footcare itself.

Physical costs – Carrying out your own footcare generally gets progressively more difficult with age due to lack of mobility, arthritic joints, muscle weakness, reduced eyesight, and foot tissue changes (such as thickening of nails). When patients tell me they can no longer reach to look after their own feet, my tongue-in-cheek phrase is that “legs get longer and arms get shorter as we get older”. Self-care of feet can end up being quite a physically-demanding task.

Emotional costs – Self-neglect is something that often starts with footcare (or lack of it) due to the physical limitations mentioned. This can progress to neglect of other areas of health leading to deterioration in general well-being. It is often said then when your feet hurt, it hurts all over. That pain can be mental & emotional as well as physical.

Financial costs – Self-care of feet is free (apart from investment in good quality equipment & creams to help, such as those available from www.firstaidforfeet.co.uk). Once you need to seek help from others qualified to treat feet, then there are costs associated with it to cover their time, training, equipment, insurance, regulations etc. As with all things in life, if you pay cheap, you often pay twice, and that is no different for professional footcare. I regularly hear of people who have been told by their professional footcare provider that they need treatment every month at a cost of say £35-£50 or example. That’s 12 treatments a year costing £420-£600. Whereas in reality, less frequent treatment is fine providing a thorough job is done each time. On the whole at our clinic, “routine” footcare patients are seen every 2-3 months and the costs currently range from £70.50 to £97.50 (after initial assessment) depending upon the amount of work that is required. That equates to an annual cost of £352-£487 based on treatment every 10 weeks, thereby actually working out cheaper in the long-term. In addition to this cost-saving we carry out intensive work to resolve even longstanding foot problems, to ensure ongoing comfort and cost-effectiveness for our patients. We also obtain a full medical history and carry out health screening & vascular assessments in order to ascertain a patient’s risk status before we go anywhere near treating their feet with sterilised instruments.

Remember you only get one pair of feet and they are invaluable, so invest in them to keep them healthy.

Jonathan Small, Lead Podiatrist, Health First Foot & Gait Clinic, 01926 811272

 

“My first visit ever to a podiatrist, and found this a warm and friendly place. Everything was explained clearly and treatment was quick and painless. Good location, right next to free car park. Would recommend.”               J.C.

“I have had nothing but an excellent standard of service and care from Health First. I would recommend for any nail, foot or gait problems. It has helped me a lot. It is a private service so you have to accept that you have to pay for the service.”             T.N.

“Jonathan has provided me with thorough, professional and successful advice over several years. I can thoroughly recommend this practice.”           S.F.