ELDERLY PATIENTS' ACCESS TO NHS PODIATRY SERVICES

EDM number 1195 in 2005-06, proposed by Andrew Lansley on 05/12/2005.

That this House expresses concern about the difficulties facing many NHS podiatry services and the plight of many elderly patients whose need for basic podiatry care is not being met; notes a survey of NHS podiatry service managers, carried out by the Conservative Party, which shows that 83 per cent. of services have found demand outstripping resources during the last five years, the majority requiring an average 28 per cent. increase in staff to meet demand, and that 55 per cent. of services have raised the level of need for access to care, which has had the effect of discharging some patients who would previously have been entitled to care; further notes Help the Aged's recent report entitled Best Foot Forward, which concluded that a quarter of elderly patients with a need for podiatry care are not receiving it; is concerned that many elderly patients are being forced to pay for basic podiatry services in the private sector; and calls on the Government to establish a review of podiatry services and patients' needs as an essential first step to assessing the scale of the problem and addressing it.

This motion has been signed by a total of 61 MPs.