AFTER 16 years of receiving treatment on their feet, two blind pensioners have had their podiatry treatment mysteriously halted by Wiltshire Primary Care Trust.
Michael and Jennifer Chester, of Wellington Way, Salisbury, have been having their feet looked after and their nails cut by podiatrists at the Central Health Clinic, in Avon Approach, since 1990.
Both Mr Chester, 64, and Mrs Chester, 60, are registered blind and are not capable of looking after their own feet.
advertisementMr Chester said: "It is only a matter of getting our nails cut and making sure there are no problems with our feet, but the clinic has told us we cannot go anymore because our case is not severe enough.
"Neither my wife nor I have major problems with our feet, but that is primarily because we have regular check-ups and any small problems have been dealt with before they get out of hand. There is simply no way we can look after our own feet because of our lack of eyesight, and I don't know what we are going to do."
The clinic argues Mr and Mrs Chester are unlikely to develop serious problems because of the lack of regular check-ups, but Mr Chester believes the clinic's decision has more to do with economics.
He added: "Nothing has changed from my point of view, my eyesight and the condition of my feet is no better or worse than 16 years ago so I don't know how they have come to this decision.
"My guess would be they are trying to save money and they think they can do this by getting rid of all but the most serious cases."
The decision has left Mr and Mrs Chester in a desperate state.
He explained: "The clinic advised us to continue treatment with a private chiropodist but we have asked around and cannot find one which charges less than £25 per person, per session.
"Each of us has to go four times a year, which is going to come to £200 and since my wife collects a pension and I am on disability benefits, that is simply too much for us to pay out."
For their part, the clinic has said finance is not an issue and they deal with each case on its merits.
A spokeswoman for Wiltshire PCT said: "The PCT has not withdrawn funding, however the eligibility criteria for podiatry treatment changed in June 2005 to try and focus and target treatment for those people at greater risk of amputation.
"Should patients' needs change they can be re-referred at any time, but the changes do mean, unfortunately, the service is unable to provide routine foot care services such as nail cutting."
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