Podiatry - free or private?

[caravaner]

Hi,

When my mother lived at home and couldnt go to the clinic to have her toenails done anymore they sent one out to the home for her and this was free on NHS.

I had a letter informing us that one of them were coming out to the house to do her toenails again but she had already gone into the care home where she is self funding. I phoned them and informed them that she was now in care home and they said they would sort it out.

We noticed that her feet had been done but thought it was the same as before.

I have just had a invoice from a Private Chiropadist for doing mam's feet which the manager of the chome forwarded to me.

So does this now mean she has to pay privately to have her toenails cut as well as everything else!!!?

[chucky]

Im the same with my dad, he has to pay too and yet it was free when he was at home and hes not self funding.

[Grannie G]

My husband used to get NHS diabetic podiatry free at our local clinic.

When he went into residential care I was told it would not be possible for clinic staff to visit him on a regular basis .

The home has a podiatrist who attends to all the residents and now attends to my husband.
We pay.

[ellejay]

My mum pays £16 a time in her CH in Essex (she's not self funding ).

Lin x

Forgot to say, mum is diabetic too

[Saffie]

My husband, who is a long term diabetic, had to pay privately for home chiropody for years. To have it free he would have had to attend a clinic but that was never even suggested even though he was mobile at the time - though even this was later stopped for everyone not on benefits.

Now he is in a nursing home, as a result of him seeing the cardio-vascular team every 3 months at the acute hospital as his amputation site is still not healed, the head nurse there arranged for him to have treatment from the podiatry team. Someone visits him every fortnight or so and he doesn't pay.

[cornishmaid]

I have been wondering the same thing since my dad went into his self funded care home. We now have to pay £12.50 a time for his podiatry and he seems to have this done every month even though we don't request it! Dad pays over £3,000 per month for his care - surely it wouldn't hurt the home to include basic needs ie. hair, podiatry etc in this fee??

Why, since he has moved into self funded care, does the free NHS treatments have to stop - he paid National Insurance all his working life - it makes me maaaadddd!!

[Dazmum]

We pay £14.50 for chiropodist treatment in mum's care home, and we aren't self funding - last time it made her toe bleed, I wasn't impressed.

[geum123]

I pay £9.00 for chiropodist treatment for Dad.
He has always paid, whilst being self funded, and now receiving NHS CC.

[scarletpauline]

Nothing to do with care homes but our private chiropodist charges us £35 for the two of us. For one person she charges £20.

[greengirl]

Hi, I think it is down to the local policy of your health authority. They have increasingly restricted podiatry to reduce costs. In some places you get it free if you are on warfarin or drugs that make it 'risky' to cut the skin etc but I heard in my county that they have now decided that podiatrists are fully capable/ insured to deal with all feet.

If you call her Dr's and ask what the local policy is; if they say its a free service for someone at home it would be discriminatory for them to exclude you because your home is residential/ nursing. But I fear they will say they only offer a very limited service or which you aren't eligible due to their policy criteria.
gg

[caravaner]

Thanks for all the replies.

Well update so far - I phoned the nhs chiropody dept and was informed that mum was still on the list and that a nhs chiropodist had gone out to see her in March and there is no problem with them going out to her at the home.

The invoice for the private treatment forwarded to me by the care home was for the month of March as well!

I will be phoning the Manager of chome tomorrow to see what has happened. I think they should ask the family before arranging for a private chiropodist to call incase they are under the NHS dept. as mum was.

After I have spoken to the Manager I will give the private chiropodist a call and tell him that she is under NHS so why was he treating her without approval from the family.


T

[greengirl]

Thanks for all the replies.

Well update so far - I phoned the nhs chiropody dept and was informed that mum was still on the list and that a nhs chiropodist had gone out to see her in March and there is no problem with them going out to her at the home.

The invoice for the private treatment forwarded to me by the care home was for the month of March as well!

I will be phoning the Manager of chome tomorrow to see what has happened. I think they should ask the family before arranging for a private chiropodist to call incase they are under the NHS dept. as mum was.

After I have spoken to the Manager I will give the private chiropodist a call and tell him that she is under NHS so why was he treating her without approval from the family.


T

Great ! well done. Makes you wonder how many homes are 'providing a service' you pay for when you are entitled it for free! Certain health conditions and treatments can cause problems with the feet and it makessense to remain linked in to NHS services if possible.
x gg