Welcome to the Podiatry Arena forums

You are currently viewing our podiatry forum as a guest which gives you limited access to view all podiatry discussions and access our other features. By joining our free global community of Podiatrists and other interested foot health care professionals you will have access to post podiatry topics (answer and ask questions), communicate privately with other members, upload content, view attachments, receive a weekly email update of new discussions, access other special features. Registered users do not get displayed the advertisements in posted messages. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our global Podiatry community today!

  1. Have you considered the Clinical Biomechanics Boot Camp Online, for taking it to the next level? See here for more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
Have you considered the Clinical Biomechanics Boot Camp Online, for taking it to the next level? See here for more.
Dismiss Notice
Have you liked us on Facebook to get our updates? Please do. Click here for our Facebook page.
Dismiss Notice
Do you get the weekly newsletter that Podiatry Arena sends out to update everybody? If not, click here to organise this.

£12 DOM fee

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by Cambs Pod, Feb 12, 2014.

  1. Cambs Pod

    Cambs Pod Member


    Members do not see these Ads. Sign Up.
    Have just had a lady phone up requesting a home visit for her parents. They require nail cutting.

    I quoted them £60. I was told that that was exorbitant, their previous chiropodist charged £12 each for a home visit.

    What do others think?
     
  2. blinda

    blinda MVP


    I think £60 is cheap. I would charge £80 for providing a premium service outside clinic hours. There is no such thing as `just a nail cut`. I`m sure they would appreciate your advising them should they manifest, what could potentially be, a limb threatening infection.
     
  3. fancyfeet86

    fancyfeet86 Member

    My previous experience of this has been with someone who was a 'footcare specialist'. They were neither a qualified or registered Podiatrist.
     
  4. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

    Articles:
    8
    Ask them what they paid for the last time that they got a plumber to call.
     
  5. Yep, I agree. Last time I got a plumber (last year) it was £60 call out. However, if I could have got a plumber for £12 call out I probably would have opted for them over the £60. Therein lies the problem.
     
  6. W J Liggins

    W J Liggins Well-Known Member

    As a colleague has posted elsewhere, point out that you would feel professionally undervalued (not to mention going hungry!) at the previous price, and they would feel overcharged at your fee -everyone unhappy. Your fee is your fee and there is no point in continuing the conversation. They can always go back to their previous 'chiropodist' - everyone happy.

    All the best

    Bill Liggins
     
  7. Paul Bowles

    Paul Bowles Well-Known Member

    Not really a problem because you would have paid the 12 pounds for the first person and then the job would have been so bad you would have needed the 60 pounder the fix the issues the 12 pounder caused!

    No problem at all really!
     
  8. Cambs Pod

    Cambs Pod Member

    This couple have moved to this area (Cambridgeshire) from Worceseter (I don't think flood related!).

    The person in Worcester was charging £12 per patient home visit.

    I''ll be fair, the lady that I spoke to seemed very friendly.

    As Akbal Randhawa said a few years ago on the subject, "don't blame this lady, blame the people charging pin money on which you simply can't make a living on for the situation that this has caused."

    A lady at Grimsby charges £45 for a DOM apparently! that is fair!
     
  9. N.Knight

    N.Knight Active Member

    I really hate people who under sell them self and people think as it is Podiatrist and not a Dcotor it should be cheaper. WHY!!!!

    My Dentist - £24 for 10 min check up
    Hair cut £15-16 for 15 minutes

    People are paying for your time and expert opinion as Bel said it is never just nails

    I bet the type of person who moans at fees are not the type of person you want to see in your clinic.

    Thanks,


    Nick
     
  10. Cambs Pod

    Cambs Pod Member

    I was talking to a very local colleague yesterday. they quoted £35! £15 each for simple nail cutting, and a £5 for the travelling.

    My understanding is that at the first appointment, it is OUR opinion on whether it is simple nail cutting or nail cutting or also that corn or 2.

    Had a patient come to see me the other day for routine care: slightly thickened nails.

    he was experiencing a lot of cramp whilst sitting on the couch. A polite letter was written to the GP requesting a medication review, and guess what, his medication has been changed as a result.

    All through a routine appointment. As Martin Fox said at a SCP conference, we guys are on the frontline, we can spot PAD/PVD as advise the patient to see the GP.
     
  11. blinda

    blinda MVP

    Relate that experience to your next `just nails` pt and ask them what they would be prepared to pay for a professional to spot a condition which could quickly lead to amputation, or death.
     
  12. I pay £3.50 for my haircut at a small collective shop where the girls are self employed. (I actually pay £10 but that's because she does a good job and I think £3.50 is too cheap). I'm not that bothered what qualifications she has or if she can spot aloplecia or skin cancer or whether she can actually tell me what hair changes take place with diabetes - all I'm interested in is whether she does a good job. Personal care. Personal service.

    If someone opened a salon next door who was degree trained in hairdressing and registered with the Hair and Care Professions Council and promised to point out early aloplecia and count the number of grey hairs but had to charge £40 as that was what she expected to get with her superior qualifications and training, I don't think Sophie next door would be too bothered.
     
  13. davidh

    davidh Podiatry Arena Veteran

    I agree with you Mark - why is a Pod doing doms anyway? But if they really want to, just charge a realistic fee and don't worry if no dom business comes in. Don't blame the undercutters for taking away the dom work - blame the grand Podiatry PR machine (it doesn't exist BTW, not in the UK anyway) for not educating patients and prospective patients about what a Podiatrist is actually capable of. You may like to ask, on the way, why the public don't automatically think of Podiatry as the first stop for any kind of foot complaint.

    As an aside, I pay £7.00 for a haircut. She does a good job, and the mindless chatter is kept to a minimum, which suits me.
     
  14. blinda

    blinda MVP

    Actually, I disagree. The shop unit I now rent was an old fashioned Barbers for many years. The young gal, and the old Barber before her, charged a fiver per cut, which customers appeared to be happy with. Then, a `Hair Design` salon opened right next door. Mens cut `n blows start at £15.00 with the Stylist, with the price increasing relatively to a maximum of £45 if you choose the Senior Stylist, Style Director, Art Director or Manager to deliver the service. Within a year the Barber fell behind with her rent.

    If a pt chooses to see a pedicurist, FHP, FCA or any other `foot stylist`, I have no problem with that. So long as they understand that I am a podiatrist and charge accordingly.

    I`m not going to publicly confess what I pay my hairdresser...but I do happen to make a 160 mile round trip to see her :eek:
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2014
  15. Maybe hairdressing was a bad comparison - as there is a cosmetic element to the service, much like dentistry and unlike podiatry, and therefore in today's convoluted world, it carries greater value. Therefore the marketing gurus can carry off such triumphs like you describe and the gullible line up in droves. Podiatry and feet carry no such value - unless you're a pedicurist or nail technician who routinely gross more that UK private practice pods. Why - because they do nice things to feet, whilst your average high street pod carries out all the unpleasant things - like infections and cracked heels and other things we don't like to mention so they get reimbursed accordingly. So what if you have a different set of qualifications? Mrs Smith even comes to my house and charges a quarter what you do and never moans at all!

    I still do nail cuts. Don't charge any less for them and always suggest they can get them done cheaper elsewhere, but I still have patients booking every six weeks and paying well over the £2 fee that I should be charging them for my time, but they must be relatively satisfied as they wouldn't come back otherwise and I guess I should be thankful for small mercies.

    I don't see the point in complaining about fees. We are in an unregulated market and it's called competition. If CambsPod is losing patients - they're simply outsmarting him...

    (how much do you pay for a haircut??)
     
  16. Mine is more colourful. She is a part-time hairdresser, tattoo artist and dominatrix at a nearby Blackpool emporium - and a single mother of two nice kids - all of which she manages to keep neatly separate and ticking over nicely. And she has a really smart brain and GSOH so it's always an experience and not one to be undertaken when in a solitary frame of mind. There's always a good exchange of stories, but decorum dicktates I won't be able to recount any of her pearls on this forum...
     
  17. Cambs Pod

    Cambs Pod Member

    Mark,

    It was a new patient enquiry! I was told that I was the most expensive quote. I quoted £60 for a Dom for 2 people. Their last person in Worcester charged £12 per patient for a Dom! There is undercutting and there is RIDICULOUS!

    Cambs Pod
     
  18. blinda

    blinda MVP

    Yep, me too.

    Not tellin`. Hate to reveal my gullibility ;)


    Word in your ear, Freud.
     
  19. Why - they're managing to undercut you by half and still make a living! What did you offer to justify your fee? Did it work?
     
  20. Cambs Pod

    Cambs Pod Member

    This couple have moved from Worcester to Cambridgeshire and are looking for "someone to cut their toe nails." Perhaps the last person was in effect a charity. I am running a business!

    As George Brandy has said in the past, you have to take a full med history at 1st appointment!
     
  21. davidh

    davidh Podiatry Arena Veteran

    Hi,

    Actually you don't. The pedicurists don't, and many FHPs don't.
    If you cut a toe while you were cutting nails, and it went badly wrong and you were sued, I'm not at all sure you would be held to account just because you didn't take a full med history.

    I was reminded recently that poor clinical practice does not necessarily equate to clinical negligence.
     
  22. stevewells

    stevewells Active Member

    I hate doing doms but there is a need for it - especially when I have long term loyal patients who become house bound. As I said I hate doing them so it has to be worth my while. I would charge double my normal 30 minute fee for a Dom visit (£84) but I found this became out of reach for some people so once a month I take an afternoon out of the clinic and do a dom round - I still charge more than my normal 30 minute fee but it is still within the reach of the patient and is more than reasonable at £50. If I see husband and wife at the same time they still pay 50 quid each so that makes up for it a bit too. Works for me and seems to be accepted by patients. I agree with Bill - they can always go elsewhere and get it cheaper - you can't fight that but I have found over the years that people eventually realise they get what they pay for and if they find someone to do their feet for a tenner and are happy with the result then good luck to them.
     
  23. If you're running a business cutting toenails and hoping your pitch that you take a med history equates to the fact your fee is double that of your competitors - is going to give you the edge......I think you got as much chance of pulling it off as the Somerset Levels Lawn Tennis Winter Tourney has of being a success this weekend. Not suggesting that cutting nails is all you do....and of course your skills in other areas of clinical podiatry justify the undoubted rewards you get on a daily basis. Set your stall out - charge what you think you're worth - and if the customer goes elsewhere, wish them well - or lower your fee.
     
  24. Fliss

    Fliss Active Member

    The problem is that often people only see that you are cutting their toenails and don't understand (or care?) what else you are capable of and the knowledge you have from your 3 year degree. It can be tough knowing how hard you worked for your degree, and then your dom prices are dragged down by local competition (especially when you are dom only), when you are trying to make a living.... when living more 'in the sticks' you are limited and people are not prepared to pay the big town prices (hence established competition being generally 'cheap').... I would be interested to see what other pods charge per patient for care home visits???? especially where the conditions you work in can be far from ideal....
     
  25. Why is it a problem? You're cutting their toenails, right? So you're capable of making a differential diagnosis between Gillian Barre & diabetic neuropathy, but so what? What if your prospective patient has neither and just can't bend down far enough to trim their nails. Or wipe their ar5e? That's the kind of inconvenience age sometimes brings. If someone charges £5 to cut toenails and you charge £60 and there's not a lot in the kitty to pay for such necessities - you're going to lose the business. Don't complain about it. I feel sorry they can't afford your fee - no doubt they would like the reassurance of someone who might be better trained - but there is no chance they can justify double, triple or quadruple the cost. Take on some social responsibility - accept a number of low payment or no payment patients into your practice or if you can't do that for whatever reason - hang a sign outside your door - no vermin, hawkers or nail cuts. And the best of luck to you.
     
  26. stevewells

    stevewells Active Member

    Amen - thanks Mark - saved me a 5 minute rant there!
     
  27. davidh

    davidh Podiatry Arena Veteran

    About sums up what I think too. Remember Mark and I have quite a few years under our belts as Pods (actually Mark I don't know how long you've been qualified, but I'm coming up to 43 years), so it may be that our views are not entirely meaningless;).

    I would advise anyone who has built or is building a practice based on dom care to think again. It's a lazy way out, and its full of low-priced competition.

    We don't have a closed profession - fact of life, so we have to either find a niche within the market (which could very well just be the best pod on the block, or we have to accept that the competion is there and deal with it accordingly.

    I understand that the OP was making a point, and this is in no way a dig at her.
     
  28. Podess

    Podess Active Member

    Cambs Pod,
    I find this an interesting discussion.

    In UK we have a Free Market Economy, ipso facto ,

    1. There will always be practitioners who charge more than you do.

    2. There will always be practitioners that charge less than you do.

    Whether or not a client will purchase your services at your prices depends upon their perceived value of your services to them.

    I know of people who have Sky TV, smoke, go to the pub regularly, give £100's away to the kids at Christmas yet won't pay more than about £15 for footcare. That is their choice and their right to have their own financial priorities, and only they can change them.


    Podess.
     
  29. Cambs Pod

    Cambs Pod Member

    My original point was that £12 each, even for nail cutting service for a home visit is ridiculously cheap!
     
  30. W J Liggins

    W J Liggins Well-Known Member


    I agree. However, the one aspect of the subject that this discussion has not touched on is why? Could it be that the original pod (if pod they were) was not interested in making a living but rather garnering 'pin money'? Even today you can buy 4 pints with £12.00.

    Anyway, notwithstanding the claims made by other posters, you are not a social service, you should not take the lack of amenities offered by the NHS to your conscience. If others wish to behave in an unprofessional way, let them. Your fee is your fee and is fair. Stick to it, wave goodbye to to the enquirer and let them seek 'treatment' elsewhere.

    All the best

    Bill Liggins
     
  31. Fliss

    Fliss Active Member

    Problem was probably the incorrect word to use. From your comment I think you may have missed my point and taken it in a negative way, my point rather than complaint is that from the patients view they only want you to cut their nails (for whatever reason, usually because they can't reach their feet!) and that is all, and that is fine, no problem. I'm saying I can understand it's a shame that we as pods have gained extensive knowledge which can be 'wasted' as such, I'm sympathising but I'm not complaining, it is what it is, you are directed by the requirements of your patient. Also, I think you are assuming my fee is high? it isn't high because of where I live, and nobody has ever complained about my fee. I am also very aware that a lot of people can't afford a high fee. I'm only trying to be reasonable (I'm certainly not greedy) and wouldn't dream of charging an unrealistic fee. For the record, I only do doms, I charge £20 for regular patients and £16 for care home patients (based on competition).... I don't charge extra for my initial visit. So, some constructive feedback would be appreciated with your obvious greater experience than my own... do you feel I am going wrong? and if so, where? (I am honestly genuinely interested) :confused:
     
  32. Fliss

    Fliss Active Member

    See my reply above.
     
  33. tonywatson12

    tonywatson12 Active Member

    yep
    in the real world mark your so right.
    we are in competition with each other and any other hpc reg pod.
    all of which can take a medical history and understand the risks.

    I guess having been a SMAE pod prior to doing my BSc (many years ago) i am a bit peed that the HPC was granted to non BSc pods.

    remember the CPSM and the fight to close the profession!!
    yep that worked.

    As for price it depends on what the patient will pay nail cutting should not cost £40 that is just wrong!
     
  34. David Smith

    David Smith Well-Known Member

    My usual fee is £35 per person per visit and 10% discount for two or more persons at one location plus a mileage and travelling time fee outside a 5 mile radius.
     
  35. trevor

    trevor Active Member

    If the patient came to your rooms how much would you charge?
    If they came by taxi how much would the two cab fares be?
    This is what a lot of your patients are be paying now for podiatry care.
    Would you charge less than this to an existing patient who could no longer visit your rooms.
    If you did this, what would happen to your practice if all your patients found out it was cheaper to have a home visit than come to the rooms?
    Just a thought.

    With travel time a home consult would, perhaps, take about as long as two in rooms consults plus you need to run a motor vehicle.
    The auto clubs usually have a cost per kilometer for each type of vehicle.
     
  36. davidh

    davidh Podiatry Arena Veteran

    Obvious, but someone had to point it out:D .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .

    It's Saturday morning. I've had a shave, the dogs have been out, and I've done the shopping - I'm now trying to avoid work by making unnecessary posts..........
     
  37. Fliss

    Fliss Active Member

    In what way is it a lazy way out?
     
  38. blinda

    blinda MVP

    Stating the bleedin' obvious is an acquired skill, I'll have you know. Albeit predictably.....
     
  39. davidh

    davidh Podiatry Arena Veteran

    It's a lazy way out because it means that the Podiatrist hasn't thought about the problems associated with dom practice.
    It's a lazy way out because it means that the Pod hasn't properly looked at their other options.

    Problems.
    First and foremost is that the dom market is awash with competition. On the back of that is the fact that fees are generally low, and the market tends to attract those who will undercut to stay in business.

    The second big problem is that the Pod can only really carry out palliative care safely, and that not terribly satisfactorily.
    And the third big problem is eventual wear and tear on the Pod.


    Once trained,it's easy to buy insurance, some instruments, autoclave and bags and get started - requires little planning, hardly any thought, and certainly not degree-based training. That's why its lazy.
    That is also why the dom market tends to be overcrowded..........
     
  40. Podess

    Podess Active Member

    If what you say is correct DH, then why are you supporting the training of FHPs, who seem to epitomise all the attibutes you decry ? :confused:
     
Loading...

Share This Page