And why we think it's the best way
Our Philosophy of Care
The way we approach patients is neatly described in our company values, which are as follows:
Making a difference
Preventing, treating and rehabilitating from lower limb problems allows our patients to have a life of pain-free activity.
Care
We focus on our patients as whole individuals with attention, empathy, and care.
Industry Leaders
We use the best evidence and techniques to provide the best outcomes.
Niche
We don’t try to do everything. We focus on the lower limb only and do it better. We partner with others to provide a complete solution.
To summarise, our goal is to fix your foot and lower limb problems, but also to ensure that you return to your best, and stay that way. We do that by using scientific evidence and the best treatments, but also by treating each person as an individual, which ends up with the best result for everybody.
The Management Plan
A central feature of how we look after our patients is to come up with a management plan right at the start. This sets out:
what the problem is (that is, how is it affecting your life)
what we think the condition is
what the preferred outcome will be
how we will get there
who will be involved
what you will need to do, and
how long it will take
We can let others know about your management plan if you like, and we will revisit it over time to see if we are on track or if things have changed.
Our Team
Our in-house team consists of podiatrists, an exercise physiologist, and a podiatric surgeon. We believe that we are very good at what we do, but we also recognise that other professionals are good at what they do as well. When we look at the management plan for an individual, we may treat you ourselves, but we also partner with other practitioners who we have a close working relationship with in order to provide a complete solution to your short and longer-term needs.
If you come to us with any type of problem affecting your lower limbs, then we will make sure you leave with a plan of how it is going to be managed and the people we think should be involved in that management. We keep this approach in mind whether you are coming in with a simple problem that can be fixed on the same day or a long term, chronic condition.
The life-cycle of conditions and their treatments
Some conditions are different when they are new compared to when you have had something for a long time. Some conditions get better and worse over time, and some conditions eventually get better by themselves. We assess where you are with your particular problem, and our management will vary accordingly.
How we choose treatments
We rely on scientific evidence as well as an assessment of an individual's condition, how severe it is, whether it has just started or been there for a long time and some other factors.
We do not choose treatments based on what we have done in the past, "traditional" approaches or what we are comfortable with. We can and have changed our approach over the years based on published research, and we have no preconceptions about how we might do things in the future.
The scientific evidence that we use is not specific to podiatry. It is the same as it is available to all practitioners. In other words, we don't use different science from anybody else in order to determine how we practice.
Treatments can be simple and non-invasive, or more complex and/or invasive (such as surgery, for example). Generally, we will try something simple first, and often this works. If not, then we will try other things as required and as informed by the evidence. The order in which we try treatments depends upon whether it is a new or old problem, and many other factors specific to the patient (in other words, you).
Our approach is generally targeted toward getting your body to recover from the condition and we then often encourage rehabilitation in the short term and preventative measures in the longer term. We prefer not to just treat symptoms unless we think that it will also lead to an improved long term outcome. Our goal in all cases is to successfully treat the problem to the extent that it is possible and get people back to whatever level of pain-free activity that they would like to.
Why we choose your treatments
We take a lot of different things into consideration when choosing a treatment regime for somebody. Some of the things we take into account are:
How long you have had the condition
Your age (some things work differently, or at a different pace, depending on your age group)
The practicalities of you doing the treatment
What treatment you may have had before
Also, everybody we see is an individual, and not everybody responds the same way to similar treatments.
Questions?
We are always happy to explain our treatment philosophy in more detail, and how it applies in your case. Get in touch with us at any time for more information.