About podiatric surgery
What is podiatric surgery?
Podiatric Surgery is the surgical management of the bones, joints and soft tissues of the foot and associated structures. Treatment and care typically involve a range of both conservative and surgical options.
What is a podiatric surgeon?
Independent and autonomous non-medical specialists, podiatric surgeons consult, diagnose, and admit patients for foot and lower limb surgery. They undertake extensive training in the foot and lower limb that takes, on average, 10 years to complete.
Where do podiatric surgeons work?
Podiatric surgeons can work in a variety of settings, including community, acute and hybrid settings. However, podiatric surgery is only offered in sites that meet Care Quality Commission (CQC) standards.
For this reason, Podiatric Surgeons can only operate in sites that have passed CQC inspection such as:
- Acute or Community NHS Trust, or
- Within a private care setting.
How do you train to become a podiatric surgeon?
Qualified podiatrists undertake postgraduate training, starting with an MSc in the Theory of Podiatric Surgery. Successful candidates complete a thorough peer review process called Preparation for Podiatric Surgical Training and then apply for a podiatric surgical training post in the NHS. At the same time, they enrol on a three-year Master of Podiatric Surgery (MOPS) programme. During this time, training is delivered via the academic setting provided by the University and as part of the clinical role within the NHS under a named tutor and consultant-led service.
On successfully completing the MOPS programme, the successful candidate gains annotation on the HCPC register and is awarded a Fellowship with the Royal College of Podiatry, Faculty of Podiatric Surgery (FRCPodS).
At this stage, candidates can apply for a post as a Specialty Registrar in Podiatric Surgery. These posts typically last three to five years. During this time, a period of advanced training happens under the guidance and supervision of a Consultant Podiatric Surgeon. During this period, the candidate works towards their Certificate of Completion of Podiatric Surgery Training (CCPST). This certificate is governed by the RCPod and overseen by its Academic and Clinical Governance Committee.
Achieving the CCPST marks the end point of a Podiatric Surgeon’s formal training. The qualified Podiatric Surgeon can now apply for consultant-grade posts within the NHS.
Who do podiatric surgeons work with?
Podiatric surgeons often work collaboratively as part of multidisciplinary teams (MDT). They frequently work with anaesthetists, vascular surgeons, rheumatologists, diabetologists, orthopaedic surgeons, interventional radiologists, nurses and others to ensure each patient receives the highest quality care and the best clinical outcomes.
What is a podiatric surgeon’s scope of practice?
Podiatric surgeons do a variety of surgeries and treatments on the foot, lower limb and related parts of the body. This includes fixing deformities in the foot and ankle that someone is born with or develops over time. Principally, they undertake foot surgery to treat:
- foot deformities
- toe deformities
- painful arthritis
- trapped nerves and malformations
- limb preservation for the at-risk foot eg diabetic foot
- painful soft tissue pathology
In the course of their work, a Podiatric Surgeon will work both independently and jointly with other specialities (MDT) to undertake surgery both on a planned (elective) basis as well on an urgent basis depending on the nature of the problem that is affecting the foot and its associated structures.
How are podiatric surgeons regulated?
Primarily, podiatric surgeons are podiatrists and so they are registered with and regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), which is the independent UK regulatory body responsible for setting and maintaining the standards of professional training, performance and conduct of healthcare professions.
Podiatric Surgeons must work to the appropriate standards of proficiency for podiatrists, but they must also meet an additional 19 standards of practice as a Podiatric Surgeon. They are annotated on the HCPC register to indicate that they have undertaken HCPC approved training or had their experience endorsed through an HCPC approved course. In this way, the HCPC recognises Podiatric Surgeons as independent, autonomous clinicians that surgically manage the foot and its associated structures.
How else are podiatric surgeons regulated and governed?
Podiatric Surgeons must go through a yearly review and mandatory training to make sure they are following the right rules and standards.
During this review, they look at things like how well the surgeon works, what training they have done to keep improving, and what they plan to do in the future.
Just like other regulated jobs, if someone sees a Podiatric Surgeon doing something wrong or unsafe, they can report it to the regulator. In the case of podiatric surgeons, that is the HCPC. This helps make sure the public and patients stay safe.
What is the career route to becoming a podiatric surgeon?
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The Royal College of Podiatry’s PASCOM-10 data collection tool
The Royal College of Podiatry’s PASCOM-10 is a data collection system that compiles clinical audit and outcome measurement data, predominantly from podiatric surgeons. It is reliant on contributions from podiatrists and podiatric surgeons to improve patient care. It has been active and collecting data since 2010.