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I am thinking of retraining as a Foot Health Practitioner and had a few questions that some might be able to answer.
I did complete a 4 year course in Homoeopathy in the 90's which covered Anatomy and Physiology, Pathology, Philosophy, Materia Medica but did not follow this as a career.
I do realise that it is wrong and not allowed to call oneself a Chiropodist/Podiatrist once qualified as a FHP.
If I do this course I want to make sure that I am comlpying with all the rules and regulations.
Some of things that are my main concern before embarking on a course are Sterilisation and Indemnity Insurance.
Stonebridge college apparently do offer Indemnity Insurance once qualified and also entrance into The Register for Foot Health Professionals (RFHP).
My Mother has seen many different Chiropodists in the past in different areas of the country.
Where she is now the lady who she used to visit was always very late.
1 other did not return her telephone calls enquiring about her charges etc.
She tried a mobile FHP and is very pleased with the service she gets.
My Mother does not have any serious underlying diseases, she get her thick skin filed down with a little electric tool, nails cut and foot massage which she loves.
I have been asking question to my Mother about how the FHP sterilises her equipment because I understood an Autoclave was needed to do this.
Apparently the FHP uses anti-bacterial wipes on the nail clippers, what are your thoughts on this?
The one time she used a scalpel to take off some hard skin, she then disposed of the blade into a sharps box. Is this right or would it be better to buy a few sets of tools that can be put an autoclave at the end of each day?
Personally I was looking to buy a new Autoclave from a company in Bristol and get that serviced each year.
[quote=
I have a friend doing an A & P Diploma course through them as she wants a seperate qualification and it it is credited by an exernal body, I think its the NCFE.
Jane[/quote
can she find work with this diploma??????????
Hmmm
Can I just ask - would I be right in thinking that "chiropodist" the title that was used up to the early 2000 was a course just like the FHP is now?
I ask as I am a FHP -sac dip and passed 2 years ago, I have over 20 years experience in the health care sector and am a trained Beauty Therapist to level 3.
I enjoy doing the work I do and have recently opened up my clinic.
I agree there are good and bad practioners - but that is found anywhere - I know nurses who spent their time filling R1 forms in - and they are in charge of our lives!!!!
So give us FHP's a break. After all if Podiatrists hadnt asked for the distinction between them and chiropodists we wouldnt exist - we would be called a CHIROPODIST
The role of the HPC in regulating Chiropodists/Pods
Hello yingyang,
There seem to be some misconceptions about the role and regulation of Chiropodists/Podiatrists.
The present system of regulation of Pods by the Health Professions Council was created on 1st April 2002 and the role of the Health Professions Council was ratified by Act of Parliament at that time. The Act in question was the Health Professions Act 2002.
This replaced the previous Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine which maintained a State Register for health care professionals ( Physios, Occupational Therapists, Radiographers etc).
This was a piece of government legisalation over which Chiropodist/Podiatrists had no control - we certainly did not ask for it, as many of us were quite happy with the old system!
Prior to that time there were two ways to train to be a Chiropodist.
1. By attending a recognised School of Chiropody ( these were funded by the Local Authority and students could apply for grants and help with some expenses) and completing a 3-year F/T course which would give the graduate State Registration and allow them to work in either the public or private sector. These courses were 50/50 theory and practical and students were expected to complete in excess of 1400 clinical hours before sitting their Finals
or
2. By completing a correspondence course with a private trainer and then attending for some practical training. the length of the theory module depended on the speed that the student was able to learn but usually took about a year to 18 months. The practical content was from a week to a fortnight but additional practice sessions could be bought if required.
These people could still be called "Chiropodists" but the qualification was not accepted for work in the NHS.
When the HPC came into being all those previously State Registered were automatically transferred onto the new register and the title "State Registered" became defunct.
There was a mechanism called "grandparenting" which allowed for non- State Registered Chiropodists to be added to the register if they passed certain criteria. Unfortunately there was no practical test of competance for these practitioners who had done the distance-learning course.
"Grandparenting" is now closed and the only way to become a Chiropodist/Podiatrist is to sucessfully complete a 3/4 year course at University.
Some private trainers who had been producing non-State Registered Chiropodists in the past changed the name of their training programmes and started training non-HPC-regulated practioners with various titles which have come to be known collectively as "FHPs".
Whether the old distance learning course for Chiropody is the same as the the new FHP courses I cannot say. However, there is one private trainer offering a course that can be completed in 6 months with no exams and another offers a course with 5 days practical experince.
I hope that clarifies the situation.