OH & S concerns spell end for foot clinics

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The Yorkshire Post are reporting:
Health fears spell end of the road for foot clinics

 

Netizens

Been there and done that in 1979!

When I was a health service manager my first major job was to close 23 rural podiatry clinics on health and safety grounds. I thought the world would come to an end. Diversely positioned throughout the lanes of East Sussex the only funding available was for a mobile podiatry clinic shared withb a sister authority. By some miracle it worked and although was only poroposed to be a temporary measure continued for another quarter of a century. There is even mention in Hansard, ah, the fame. To be honest the comments were rather scathing and went something like. " the last time there was an innovation in care in the region was when a mobile clinic was introduced, and that was inadequate."

Politicians never quite grasp the real problems of life.

I do vividly recall wonderful country pubs and village greens as well as an endless stream of happy customers. Whatever happened to the day of yore?

What say you?

Cameron

 

re Village halls

dear All,

An adjacent PCT to mine has resumed this practice of using Village Halls.

WHY OH WHY is this acceptable to not only ask ones staff to work insuch environmemnts but that it is also ask pts to receive health care in such an environment.

My primary concern is for the NHS employees.

Would other disciplines eg Physio OT Dietetics accept this scenario.

Or is it only Sherroppoddy that is considered sufficiently beneath the salt to be expected to work in such UNACEPTABLE SURROUNDINGS.

My PCT no longer uses Mobile Units so provides its treatments within Community Hospitals and Clinics and GP Surgeries. Domiciliary is provided in specific circumstances ONLY as we now have access to Hospital transport .

regards David

 

David

That is a worry.

When I started in the district I took my camera to the village clinics and photographed lesions and surrounding environment. Then I went to the Community Health Council (a watchdog in the old days) and presented the argument if they wanted care then they would have to be prepared to support better facilities. It worked then and that was pre blood borne virus days etc. My colleague Steve Kennedy (I think he subscribes) did a project on backache in allied health and found pods had a 100% occupationally related backache and had lost more days at work than any other staff in a hospital community. Employer's duty of care would be a way to proceed as working in cramped conditions wopuld not oggle well for health of an employee.

Cheers
Cameron

 

re this

Dear All,

i heard today that the village hall i spoke about is about to or has closed as the New rural community health clinic is about to or has just opened and Podiatry services have now started there.

So the dismal wooden grotty village hall is now no more.

This will be a major improvement for podiatry services in that rural area.

regards David

 

David

>This will be a major improvement for podiatry services in that rural area.

For that we must be grateful. OH & S is a an important tool which seems to move employers to take responsible actions.

A thousand years ago I worked a 500 year old village hall in Radley Oxford which was attached to the vickerage. The clients were never in short supply and the only place for escape was the loo. These old buildings are full of secrets and whilst taking a well earned nature break from a heavy clinical load, I was perched on the throne contemplating my navel when in popped the vicker though his secret panel door from the vickerage.

"Hello vicker, we must stop meeting like this"

Who said podiatry was dull?

Cameron

 

There has no doubt about the significance of OH&S concerns in the workplace in recent years and major improvements have been put in place. HOWEVER, a few recent news stories in our state here have got me wondering....

There have been a lot of workplace deaths lately (eg in construction industry), despite the government and union initiated safety and OH&S training and strategies. Has the recent push for workplace OH&S really led to a reduction in workplace injury?

ie in the example of this thread, has changes in work environment to a "best practice" (which I strongly agree with) really led to, for eg, less occupational overuse in Podiatrists (which is high anyway) or less cross-infection in patients????

 

More on this story from Harrogate Today:
Villages to lose their clinics in health shake-up