Emergency Quarantine Podiatry

Since lockdown I have been available for absolute emergency only foot care.

Having children and being at home has made me realise how much I enjoy my work and my patients. Throwing myself head first into as many CPD webinars as I can and liasing with other Podiatrists on how to proceed once the restriction is over.

My emergency patient I have seen include heel ulceration of a lovely elderly lady who hadn’t seen her GP but had been prescribed antibiotics just in case. The patient decided to call me instead of proceeding with the antibiotics as they ‘made her tummy bad’. The patient also mentioned that the pharmacist had looked and advised the patient that it was an ulcer. This was an instant red flag for me and I arranged to visit this lady in her own home the same day. All went smoothly and within 7days the heel ulcer was healed.

A few calls I have received which really made me giggle are the ones which describe their overgrown toenails like ‘lions teeth’ or ‘dragons claws’. Sadly the description alone is enough to put people off becoming a podiatrist but still not enough to warrant emergency podiatry care. This is where the use of technology sets in; pictures, pictures and pictures of feet and medical history can help form a risk factor for these phone calls especially if they’re new patients.