Specialist Podiatrist-Diabetic Foot Care Team Kidderminster

Job summary

We are seeking an enthusiastic and highly skilled Specialist Podiatrist to join our Multidisciplinary Diabetic Foot Care Team. Working closely with Consultant Diabetologists, Vascular, Orthopaedic and Diabetes specialists, you will provide expert assessment and treatment for patients with active diabetic foot disease.

You will play a key role in delivering high-quality, evidence-based care aimed at reducing hospital admissions, preventing complications and minimising the risk of lower limb amputation.

The role involves managing urgent referrals, ensuring patients with active foot conditions are assessed within 24 hours, undertaking advanced wound management, and providing specialist advice and education to patients and healthcare professionals.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced HCPC-registered Podiatrist to work within a dynamic specialist service dedicated to improving outcomes for people with diabetes.

Main duties of the job

As a Specialist Podiatrist within the Multidisciplinary Diabetic Foot Care Team (MDFT), you will provide expert assessment, diagnosis and treatment for patients with active diabetic foot disease, helping to reduce hospital admissions, prevent complications and minimise the risk of lower limb amputation.

Working closely with Consultant Diabetologists, Vascular and Orthopaedic Consultants, Diabetes Specialist Nurses and other healthcare professionals, you will manage complex and high-risk foot conditions across community and acute settings. You will be responsible for triaging and responding to urgent referrals, ensuring patients with active diabetic foot problems are assessed within 24 hours and receive timely intervention.

Your day-to-day duties will include advanced wound management, ulcer care, vascular and neurological assessments, offloading and orthotic provision, nail surgery under local anaesthetic, patient education and the development of individualised treatment plans.

You will act as an expert resource for colleagues and partner organisations, contribute to service development, support the supervision of junior staff and students. The role would include covering a one 3-hour session once every 18 months on a chosen Bank holiday (excludes Xmas day).

This is a rewarding opportunity to work within a highly specialised, collaborative service dedicated to improving outcomes for people with diabetes across Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

About us

At Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, we are working together to deliver outstanding care. We run community hospitals and community health services across Worcestershire and provide mental health and learning disability services across both Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Our people (all 4500+ of them) provide services for people of all ages, experiencing both physical and/or mental health conditions from over 100 sites.

We will support you to thrive; offer flexible working options for a great work-life balance, help you fulfil your ambitions, and empower you to make positive changes within your team or service. We value diversity and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities.

What we offer;

• 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
• Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when you work unsocial hours
• Flexible and agile working opportunities
• Great maternity, paternity, and adoption support
• Wide range of supportive staff networks
• Health and wellbeing opportunities

Sharing your data - As a data controller we may sometimes need to process your data to pursue our legitimate business interests, for example to request a survey from you (optional), to support the Trusts understanding of where you gained interest in working for the Trust.

Job responsibilities

• Provide specialist podiatry assessment, diagnosis and treatment for patients with active diabetic foot disease, utilising advanced clinical reasoning and evidence-based practice.
• Manage complex caseloads independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team, ensuring safe, effective and patient-centred care.
• Directly refer patients for appropriate diagnostic investigations and liaise with acute and community services to coordinate timely interventions.
• Undertake advanced wound management, ulcer debridement, vascular and neurological assessments.
• Assess the need for orthotic and offloading devices, providing prescriptions and liaising with Orthotics services on complex cases.
• Support the delivery of seamless care pathways through effective communication with GPs, consultants, community teams and other healthcare professionals.
• Provide specialist advice, education and support to patients, carers and healthcare professionals to promote self-management and improve clinical outcomes.
• Participate in clinical audit, service evaluation, quality improvement and research activities.
• Supervise, support and develop junior staff, students and support workers, contributing to training and workforce development.
• Deputise for the Service Lead when required and support the ongoing development of the Diabetic Foot Care Service.
• Maintain accurate clinical records and contribute to the collection and reporting of service data and performance metrics.

For full details of the duties and criteria for the role please refer to the job description and person specification attached.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• 5 years experience showing good evidence of post qualification experience treating high risk patients within podiatry or part of a MDT.
• Experience of carrying out expert diabetic assessment and examination.
• Experience of carrying out biomechanical assessments and examinations, ability to prescribe, cast and manufacture orthotics.

Desirable

• Post-graduate training to masters level in relevant speciality.

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Role modelling good behaviour.
• Ability to praise and be supportive to others.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Qualifications

Essential

• A degree or equivalent qualification in Podiatry.
• A certificate in administration of local anaesthetics.
• Masters level courses for relevant speciality.
• State Registration with the Health Professions Council.
• I understand that I will be asked to provide original certificates to verify my qualifications at point of offer.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

We encourage you to read the attached applicant guidance notes.

If you would like to know more, please visit our website.