Welcome to Grant Chiropody and Podiatry, you have made the first step in caring for your feet by booking an appointment.
This blog tells you everything to expect on your first appointment in our routine podiatry clinic.
When you book an appointment our reception team will ask you some questions about your feet to determine what service you require, and which practitioner would be best at catering with your issue. They may enquire about your mobility as some rooms in our clinic are upstairs, so we need to know your suitability for these rooms. Our Falkirk clinic has more than one entrance which can be used for our wheelchair users.
If you have an issue that needs to be seen urgently, they may ask you some information about your health and well-being, and they might even ask you to send an image of your foot issue so it can be triaged by one of our podiatrists.
Our receptionists will ask for an email address and a mobile number on booking to allow us to contact you easily if there is an issue with your appointment. Two days prior to your appointment a medical form will be emailed to you for you to complete. This form is all about yourself, your wellbeing and your mobility. Our podiatrists use this medical form to help them formulate the best treatment plan for you based on your answers. If you do not have a an email address, our team will be happy to complete these forms in clinic if you can arrive early to your appointment. This form is part of your medical record and as a result is protected with the strictest confidence.
The medical form also has a section on consent to treatment. This section must be completed prior to treatment. If you are unable to complete the form yourself, for example if you are unable to give medical capacity for health reasons or are under sixteen years old, someone can complete these forms on your behalf. If you have documentation to prove you have medical consent for someone, for example, Power of Attorney, our team will ask for a copy of this document to confirm you are able to make their medical decisions for them.
On arrival to the clinic, our reception team will welcome you, check your details and ask you take a seat in our waiting room. Our podiatrist, will them take you to a treatment room to start the consultation. The podiatrist will discuss any concerns from the medical form, and make ask you to confirm some details. They will then ask you about the issue that brings you to seek treatment from a podiatrist. The podiatrist will give you an opportunity to discuss your issues and concerns as well as ask some additional questions.
To gain a better understanding of your foot health they will carry out some additional tests assessing your:
-Shoe size and footwear
-Your circulation
-Your sensation
-Your foot movement, standing and walking
They may ask if they can take images of your issue to add to your patient file to monitor progress or to forward on to another health professional. Consent will always be granted prior to images being taken.
They will discuss their findings with you and then work with you to come up with a solution, and a treatment plan. Once a mutual agreement has been made, the treatment can take place. Sometimes no treatment is required and the appointment will be purely advice. This will all be discussed during your consultation.
After the treatment has taken place, the podiatrist may give you some advice on things to do yourself at home. You may require further treatments or assessments which would be discussed with you, information provided and a plan formulated on when and how this might occur. You may be provided with information leaflets, links or sent exercises as part of your treatment.
Your will then be lead back to the waiting room where the reception team will plan any future appointments and take payment for the treatment you have received.
You will then be sent a message by email after your appointment encouraging you provide feedback on your visit. We welcome your feedback to the team, this helps us to improve our services for our patients and visitors.
