Podiatry assistants to cope with rising demand for foot care
The Australasian Podiatry Council (APodC) has announced that its new policy on the role of podiatry assistants in podiatric practice was a determined attempt to offset and manage a future ‘spike’ in demand for podiatry services.
Practicing podiatrist and president of Australasian Podiatry Council, Brenden Brown, said the new policy had been the result of lengthy industry discussion and national data showing that future demand for podiatry and associated footcare services would exceed capacity in the next years.
The 2006 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study, which focused on the podiatry labour force in Australia (and other health professions), found that with an increasingly ageing population and the prevalence of chronic diseases like diabetes, patient demand for podiatry services would increase dramatically over the next 10 to 15 years.
Mr Brown said the virtue of the new podiatry assistants policy was that it further legitimised and clarified the role of the podiatry assistant in podiatry practice, whilst also boosting the podiatry profession’s ability to continue to deliver the best level of care to both existing and new patients.
“There are typically a number of activities podiatry assistants can perform and do perform each day under the policy’s ‘scope of practice’ and this includes everything from assisting with orthotic modifications to conducting infection control exercises under the supervision of a practicing podiatrist.
“This new policy and its promotion of podiatry assistants as an important element of the practitioner/patient care mix will allow podiatrists to manage more effectively the rise in demand for podiatric services,” said Mr Brown.
