The College is broadly supportive of the themes laid out in the Plan. However, we are concerned about the lack of detail, particularly around investment in the podiatry workforce. We believe that it is essential to grow the NHS podiatry workforce to meet the increasing needs of the population. Some of the initiatives within the Plan will help to achieve this, but we require further detail to understand how these plans will be implemented.

Flexible working and investment in the workforce

We welcome the announcement that from January 2021, all NHS posts will be advertised as available for flexible working. This will be of significant support to the podiatry workforce, many of whom juggle work, family and study commitments. It is also extremely important that there is continued investment in the workforce as a whole, to increase the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) podiatrists working across England’s health and social care system. There is a growing number of people with long term health conditions who need the skills of a podiatrist to prevent and manage complications and support rehabilitation. 

Recruitment

The College welcomes the recruitment drive for 2020/21 which will focus on encouraging clinicians to return to practice. However, we believe that a recruitment drive should concentrate specifically on professions where there is a shortage of supply, such as podiatry. If we are to see an increase in the number of podiatrists working across England’s NHS, it is critical that we increase both the numbers of students studying podiatry at undergraduate level, and podiatrists returning to work in the NHS. NHS podiatry services have seen many former staff returning to the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic and the College is working with HEE to support those wishing to return to practice.  

Training

The College welcomes the commitment to see more people in training and education in order to ensure that services are appropriately staffed. But this this commitment needs to be backed up with the reintroduction of full bursaries to cover the cost of undergraduate provision. The removal of the bursary has had a particularly detrimental impact on the NHS podiatry workforce. The cost of a bursary could be reimbursed by ensuring that graduates work in the NHS for a minimum of two years post-graduation, as is the case in Wales.

The Plan also sets out a £1m fund for clinical placements for nurses, midwives and Allied Health Professionals to support NHS employers in training the next generation. We look forward to seeing the breakdown for how this resource will be spent and hope that this will provide practice-based learning opportunities for podiatry students. 

Care of staff

NHS staff work in roles that are both emotionally and physically demanding and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted this. We welcome the commitment in the Plan to look after NHS staff with the promise of a support line, bereavement counselling and access to mental health and wellbeing apps. As the professional body for podiatry, we are also able to offer additional support and advice to our members whenever this is required. 

We are also pleased to see the commitment for all NHS organisations across England to provide a risk assessment for vulnerable staff, particularly in the COVID-19 context. 

Union involvement

In addition to being the professional body, the College of Podiatry is also the trade union for podiatrists in the UK and therefore part of the consultation mechanism for NHS staff. We welcome the involvement of trade unions in the formulation of the Plan and look forward to participating in its implementation. However, the NHS must now secure the correct level of funding to meet the needs of the Plan and provide for improved levels of pay and other conditions to aid recruitment and retention of podiatrists and other NHS staff. The College is pleased to see the commitments to be more inclusive and to deal with violence against NHS staff.

Our NHS People Promise

Published alongside the People Plan is the Our NHS People Promise which addresses the issue of making the NHS a better place to work. The College looks forward to engaging at a national and regional level on how we can work together to ensure that the NHS, and provider organisations, are fully accountable and provide a workplace that is free from all forms of bullying, harassment and discrimination.

Download We are the NHS: People Plan for 2020/2021 – action for us all