Local podiatry service vital

A local user of the podiatry service in Audlem has called Audlem Online to say it's vital this local facility is maintained. He says that being 84 and not having a car, there's no way he can get to Nantwich or even further afield for treatment. He urges us to keep up the pressure to keep the podiatry service in Audlem.

Another user who has kept a record of appointments says: "My record is: July 2009 success (treatment at Audlem); October failure; January 2010 failure; April success; July failure – I make that a 40% success rate for the podiatry service provision over the past year."

Last week, we revealed that Adrian Leach, the Central & East Cheshire PCT Podiatry Services Manager had written to a local carer, saying.

"We have had to temporarily close the Podiatry service at Audlem due to the combination a member of staff being on long term sick leave and another who does a clinic at Audlem requesting a reduction in hours – specifically at that clinic.

"We have informed the practice manager and Dr Muirhead. As you will probably know the financial situation is going from bad to worse and it seems likely that a number of smaller peripheral clinics will have to close in an effort to increase efficiency."

Audlem Online subsequently received a statement from Cheshire East Community Health saying: "We are doing everything possible to resolve this and we are currently talking to Cheshire West PCT on the future of the service in its current location. We would like to improve the clinical environment for both patients and staff."

Primary Care TrustsWe were also promised a call from a senior Central & Eastern Cheshire Primary Care Trust manager on Thursday or Friday last week to discuss the issue. The announcement by the Secretary of State for Health on Friday that PCTs may no longer play a part in the health service may have resulted, however, in an understandable diversion of priorities.

What is less easy to understand is that Western Cheshire PCT are the commissioners of the podiatry service, yet Central & Eastern Cheshire PCT are the providers through their community health services. Is this current problem with podiatry the inevitable consequence – reported several times on Audlem Online – of Audlem's abrupt transfer from C&ECPCT back to Western Cheshire PCT a few months ago?

If, however, 70% to 80% of funding of the health service is transferred from the PCTs to GP practices, as the Government now says in yesterday's White Paper announcement, this sort of wrangling with PCTs could become history.

Indeed, Audlem Medical Practice could well have complete freedom to decide where they buy the service in future.

This article is from our news archive. As a result pictures or videos originally associated with it may have been removed and some of the content may no longer be accurate or relevant.