GHP Healthcare & Pharmaceutical Awards 2018

GHP / 2018 Healthcare & Pharmaceutical Awards 17 , Since 2013 the foot and ankle experts at Foot Medic have been providing exceptional quality care and treatment to a range of clients. The practice was conceived on the crest of change within the health service. As service users would find that they no longer qualified for care with the changes implemented as a result of the pressures placed on NHS resources, it became obvious that a need had been created within the population. It was also clear that the same services users had come to expect a higher quality of care and a better standard of delivery. By refining clinical protocols and expanding a range of relevant services, the practice was able to provide more services and most importantly evidence-based interventions. Ciaran explores the practice’s treatment offering and how it works alongside its patients to ensure that they receive the support they need to achieve their goals. “Here at Foot Medic, we provide truly comprehensive medical services relating to the foot and ankle, catering for all age groups, ranging from what we would term as routine problems, like skin pathologies to advanced musculoskeletal services like biomechanics, gait and blood analysis, medical imaging, joint injection and orthoses manufacture. “Fundamentally, as dramatic as it may sound, our mission is to Podiatrists of the Year 2018 - Glasgow FootMedic Podiatry is amodernpodiatry provider. Podiatrist and director CiaranCanney talks us through the practice and how it works to ensure excellence for every patient it treats. improve the lives of those we treat. We encourage our clients to see beyond the physical tasks of podiatry and focus on the effect of podiatry. In essence we remove and reduce pain from patients’ lives. We improve the quality of their lives and increase and improve mobility. Everyone’s goals are different, one person’s goal might be to walk pain free, another to move more to lose weight, improve health or the athlete who might need to repair and rehab an injury or get better, faster times. Podiatry has a role to play in each of these scenarios and the Foot Medic aims to ensure excellence for everyone it treats.” Over the years, Foot Medic has faced many challenges, but, as Ciaran highlights, the team view these as opportunities and work hard to overcome them. “One of the biggest challenges we face is overcoming the identity crisis we have as a profession as a whole. As a flag bearer for Podiatry, we seek out every opportunity to educate and inform the public about what podiatry actually is and how far it has come from the olden days of ‘chiropody’. The term Chiropody has been dropped by our governing body, The College of Podiatry. It was seen by many as an outdated profession with negative connotations. It is our responsibility to shed light on Podiatry and demonstrate it for what it’s become.” As he looks to the future, Ciaran foresees a changing market in which Foot Medic must adapt in order to continue to meet its clients’ ever-evolving needs. “Looking ahead, the landscape of healthcare is changing very rapidly. As the services traditionally provided by the NHS continue to be stripped back we predict massive increases in the private healthcare industry. Increasingly, patients are required to seek out health services for themselves. As leaders in the profession it’s up to us to ensure that we are found first and create the correct impression and reassurance that we are where that patient should come to for help. By engaging with the correct marketing strategies, we will ensure that our messages are received more on target with specified calls to action for these patient groups. “It is important that when these patients find us that it is not a case of ‘selling products or solutions’ to them but rather to educate, reassure, advice, and if required see them physically in a clinic. Patients are better informed than ever before and with that comes the expectation for information. They are better able to understand medical problems and terminology than ever before. As such, we aim to offer them the solutions they need, offering helpful, informative advice and support they can rely on. “With this changing landscape in mind, at Foot Medic, our long- term vision for the business is to remain a centre of excellence and a practice that other podiatrists to aspire to. We intend to widen our reach nationally and hope to develop a series of referral and triage centres to feed our central hub. We anticipate that this will take some time to develop however we already see patients from across the region and by building a treatment infrastructure will enable us to help even more patients.” HP180008 Company: Foot Medic Contact: Ciaran Canney Address: Tribune Court, 2 Roman Road, Glasgow, G61 2SW, UK Phone: 0141 5623082 Website: www.foot-medic.co.uk