On 16 January 2026, representatives from the Royal College of Podiatry met with Bupa to discuss ongoing collaboration. Attendees were Liam McManus (Council Member, RCPod), Graham Pirie (Employment Relations Officer, RCPod), Kristopher Martindale (Head of Clinician Networks and Commercial Management, Bupa) and Jen Curzytek (Therapy Networks Lead, Bupa).
Fee structures and fee reviews
Bupa increased the fees they pay to podiatrists for initial and follow-up appointments in August 2024 and they wrote to all Bupa recognised podiatrists at the time to confirm the new fees. Bupa confirmed they want to ensure care is funded correctly and fees they pay are fair and reasonable to both podiatrists and Bupa customers, taking into account market conditions and customer feedback.
Bupa will review the terms and conditions for podiatrists to ensure they are clear, and they have created guides to support podiatrists with authorising treatment and submitting invoices, which are shared below:
- Providers Online - How to create an invoice without a pre-authorisation number - FINAL 24.11.2025
- Providers Online - How to create an invoice with a pre-authorisation number - FINAL 24.11.2025
Service expansion
The College highlighted the benefits of expanding coverage for podiatrist-led shockwave therapy and injection therapy and we will share further information to support this. Bupa clarified that their customers’ policies and schemes don’t currently cover these treatments with podiatrists.
Practice accreditation and operational barriers
The College proposed expanding recognition to include podiatry practices, and we committed to sharing a proposal with Bupa demonstrating the benefits to patients of doing this.
Simplification of treatment authorisation codes was noted for continued discussion. Bupa’s new web app has been a significant improvement to allow patients to gain preauthorisation for treatment and improve podiatry access.
We would like to thank Bupa for continuing discussions on behalf of all podiatrists in the UK and we look forward to discussing these points again in May 2026.