Alexander Izod, Senior Lecturer in Podiatric biomechanics, anatomy and clinical practice at the University of East London, writes about the University of East London’s sector-leading podiatry degree and degree apprenticeship provision. London Higher recently launched phase 2 of our #StudyNursingLondon campaign.
The number of podiatrists in the UK is in steep decline.
It’s a problem that’s been getting more acute in recent years. Between 2018 and September 2023, the number of registered podiatrists fell by 6.9 per cent and if no action is taken, by 2030 it’s estimated that figure will drop by a further 4.9 per cent. That means the NHS will have 600 fewer registered podiatrists than in 2023.
All this at a time when NHS England says it expects demand for podiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle and lower limb, to soar. By 2025 it’s expected to increase by nine per cent for core services and by 19 per cent across all services.
Figures like these illustrate how important the role of the University of East London (UEL) has become in training podiatrists for the health service, with the University the only provider of degree-level podiatry education in London.
In the NHS Workforce Plan released last year, it was proposed that apprenticeship places would be increased significantly, with this route becoming the main entryway into the profession. Here too the University plays a significant role, with our Podiatry Apprenticeship BSc building upon the success of our traditional undergraduate course.
By working in partnership with NHS employers, we are able to provide a unique combination of degree-level education with real world clinical experience and on-the-job learning. Students doing apprenticeships earn a wage but also receive a £5000 training grant during their studies. Upon completion, graduates are then ready to go straight into full-time work managing general health conditions including a range of systemic conditions that can affect lower limbs.
Such conditions may require medical, surgical, or palliative intervention, or rehabilitation and preventative care, and demand for such care is not going to lessen. With the health workforce caring for an increasingly ageing population and one with complex medical conditions such as diabetes, podiatrists will play an essential role in the future of the healthcare workforce.
It is a career that involves assessing, diagnosing, treating and rehabilitating the feet, ankles and associated structures when medical issues arise. Podiatrists can work as part of a larger multidisciplinary team, or independently in community clinics. Some graduates combine working both in the NHS and private practice.
NHS podiatric practice covers professional services in clinical areas such as diabetes, rheumatology, foot ulcer clinics and wound care services, as well as foot and ankle surgery and musculoskeletal care. NHS podiatrists also offer care to patients who often have complex medical needs such as vascular, neurological, and autoimmune diseases as well as carrying out minor surgery under local anaesthesia.
At UEL, the preparation for such a career sees our students train in a biomechanics lab, orthotics manufacturing room and nail surgery suite in our state-of-the-art Hospital and Primary Care Training Hub. This facility reflects the entire patient journey, from A&E to intensive care, physiotherapy and home environments. Students learn about anatomy, physiology and pathology and how the body reacts to illness and injury. The course is accredited by the Royal College of Podiatry.
Clinical placements are a key feature of all our podiatry courses. Located within NHS Trusts spanning London and the East of England, placements provide students with real world clinical experience in which the application of theory-to-clinical practice can take place within safe clinical environments, supported by NHS Clinical Educators.
Our course incorporates different areas such as treating child patients, podiatric sports injuries and patients with neurological disease and rheumatic conditions. By completing this professional course, our graduates are highly employable and can go onto enjoy a fulfilling career working with a diverse range of patients across many different areas.
UEL has a careers-first learning approach, which also tackles health inequalities and means the healthcare sector can be supplied with practice-ready professionals fully prepared for an ever-evolving landscape.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) are a core part of the University’s mission, anchored as we are in Newham, one of the most diverse boroughs in the country. That diversity is also found in our student population, with more than half of the students on the podiatry course from Global Ethnic Majority (GEM) backgrounds.
Statistics like those reflect the aims of UEL’s 2028 strategy, which aims to increase the diversity of the talent pipeline. Substantial progress has been made already, with the University having an unusually high number of GEM, mature and working-class students. Fully 57 per cent of our students are the first in their family to go to university, and we continue to seek to give everyone, regardless of background, the chance to become leaders, contributors to society and agents for change.
This is reflected in our clinical training. Students train on mannequins with different skin tones to reflect the population they will go on to serve. That makes it easier to recognise a range of conditions on a variety of different skin colours, while students also practice taking blood and giving injections on arms in a range of skin colours.
Collaboration between the University and employers is also a key element of our approach to education and is essential in ensuring that classroom learning with UEL is aligned to on-the-job learning experiences provided by employers. It’s a measure of the success of this approach that UEL student Phoebe Edwards recently won Podiatry Apprentice of the Year at the annual Our Health Heroes Awards for her valuable work at the East London NHS Foundation Trust.
Feedback from our employers has highlighted that UEL Podiatry apprentices have quickly become embedded within their workplaces and that our apprentices have demonstrated an accelerated level of professionalisation, allowing them to quickly gain confidence. Our apprentices have therefore been able to make a significant contribution to ‘hands-on’ patient care at an early stage within their apprenticeships. Over time, this increasingly valuable contribution has made them highly valued members of the NHS workforce.
As the scope of practice is very broad, Podiatry is a career that offers many graduates career opportunities to specialise in areas of clinical interest. Ultimately, many go on to specialise and may even aim to become Podiatric Surgeons.
