Modernisation and reform of the twenty-first-century podiatrist

Background

In response to the growing demand on healthcare services in England, Health Education England (HEE) funded the allied health professional (AHP) bodies with a Workforce Education and Reform (WFER) programme. This is to ensure each profession and its workforce is prepared and in alignment with recent publications, such as the AHP Strategic Framework for England and the NHS Long Term Plan, which plots the healthcare trajectory for England. As the dynamics of health conditions and treatments evolve, podiatrists must stay current to provide safe delivery of care for our service users.

Things to resolve

The Modernisation and reform of the twenty-first-century podiatrist project puts forward a vision of the twenty-first century podiatrist. This vision is supported by the work undertaken by the other projects under the WFER programme.

Throughout this project, we have:

  • Scoped the impact of podiatry in today’s service provision
  • Explored the barriers that podiatry may face in the progression of its workforce
  • Considered opportunities to rethink how we see ourselves within the current healthcare structure
  • Utilised the capabilities along the career ladder to inform workforce delivery within the foot health team.

Overview

Watch our video to learn more about modernisation and reform: why modernisation is needed, work being done at the Royal College of Podiatry, who the twenty-first-century podiatrist is and what this clinician offers, and how the proposed reforms will impact podiatry.


Review of the career framework

A sub-section to this project has been to review the career framework, which has been undertaken by Dr Emma Cowley. The Royal College of Podiatry has collaborated with HEE in updating the framework through digitalisation, making it more user-friendly and engaging. Find out more about the Career framework here.

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Modernisation and reform of the twenty-first-century podiatrist

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