Employment and career development opportunities for podiatrists and foot care assistants in the NHS

摘要

Aim: To describe employment patterns of foot care assistants (FCAs) and podiatrists working in the NHS. Background: Support workers represent the fastest-growing component of the healthcare workforce in the UK at present. FCAs are one constituent of this workforce, yet little is known about their numbers, employment patterns, clinical roles, career development opportunities, pay scales or training. Similarly, the patterns of the podiatry workforce, in terms of specialisms and professional structures, have not been described elsewhere. Method: A questionnaire survey sent to all NHS podiatry heads of service (totalling 243) across the UK. Results: One hundred and fifty-nine (65%) services responded to the survey, of which 83% employed FCAs. The total number of FCAs employed ranged from 0.2 to 10 WTE (whole time equivalent), with a mean of 2.9. The ratio of FCAs to podiatrists was 1.5/10. Departments that employed FCAs employed a larger number of podiatrists (p <0.01), and those podiatrists were more likely to have speciality roles (p <0.01). The most common grading of podiatrists was Senior II, at around 54%, followed by Senior I at 27%. Ninety-two percent of departments reported specialty roles for podiatrists, the most common being diabetes and biomechanics. Conclusion: Podiatry services and the NHS in general are undergoing rapid change that has implications for the career structures and roles of podiatrists and FCAs. The numbers and roles of FCAs vary widely across NHS podiatry services, raising questions around supervision, career structures and access to training. Additionally, the findings have implications for the recognition of various 'specialisms' within podiatry services.