Footcare campaign lowers Newcastle amputation rate

Foot amputations relating to diabetes have fallen in Newcastle because of a footcare initiative which has successfully been rolled out in the area.

There are now less than 0.6 major amputations per 1000 adults with diabetes in the area since the Newcastle Hospitals Community Health Centre introduced a unique training scheme for non-podiatrists.

Training was offered to all nursing and healthcare staff in hospitals so they could carry out foot assessments on people who were deemed at low risk of foot complications.

‘Prevention and management’

The scheme has been praised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for its good practice.

The idea was created to help deal with the increasing numbers of people with diabetes who needed foot assessments in the area.

The podiatry service had been struggling to deliver the number of consultations with referral figures set to rise.

In the year following the introduction of the integrated foot protection service 700 low risk podiatry people were referred back to the GP practice for their annual foot assessment.

This enabled more time to be dedicated to the care of people at high risk and those with ulcers.

The submission posted on the NICE shared learning database page said: “Seeing people in the right place at the right time is more convenient for patients, a more effective use of resources, and meets the needs of those with low risk diabetic feet while enabling the foot protection service to focus on prevention and management of patients at increased or high risk of foot disease.

“It supports the recommendations in NICE Guideline 19 (NG19) about having a robust protocol and clear local pathways for integrated care of people across all settings.”