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Hi i'm looking at working for myself and visiting people in my town area just wondering what things i need. I have

- Insurance and HPC registration
- Gloves, Blades, Blade handels, nippers, blacks files, nail files, scissors, melolin, mefix, tubegauze, blade remover boxes, autoclave.

don't know where i can get chlorohexidine and what to use to collect waste and how to dispose of it.

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Dear rboone,
There has already been a thread on this topic - maybe it would be helpful if Admin merged the two?

Thanks

Catfoot

 

Mr Boone

Get a podiatry supplies catalogue, say from Chiropody Express 01484 717999 www.ch-ex.co.uk, and work thru it picking out the stuff you need and the stuff you'd like to have and balance that against how much money you have to spend.
Then find a local clinical waste disposal company (not PHP if you want my opinion) they will give you what you need for collecting and disposing of clinical waste.

Dave Smith

 

Hi I've recently started domicilliary and as 'core' equipment have found the following works for me:
10 sets each containing nippers, 2 scalpel handles, diamond file, blacks file
Separately sterilised/packed single burrs, single ingrowing toenail clippers
Dremel drill (v v good and v not expensive!) + sanding discs
Hx spray, H20 vol 10 and vol 20 drop bottles, Friars Balsam in drop bottle. The 52p blade disposal boxes
Cotton wool, paper towels & basic dressing equipment.
Also take portable lamp and foot rest though could live without these

Also NOTE ALDI's SELLING ULTRASONIC CLEANERS FOR UNDER £40!!!

 

Dear J Foreman,
Every time I see the word "Dremel" my hair stands on end, because it has no dust-extracting facility

And where are your face-masks ?!

Nail dust stinks and I don't want it up my nose, do you want it up yours?

Please, please, do a risk assessment on this and give your lungs a break.

regards

Catfoot

 

Hi - I do use face masks, forgot them in the list, sorry! I will buy an extracting drill in time, am starting small. I probably forgot other things, will take more care before I dare post again. Good luck.

 

J Foreman,
I'm glad to hear you do use face masks

You think I was a bit hard on you? OK maybe I was, but consider this, the best piece of equipment in your practice is you and you need to make sure that it will last. No matter what other equipment you have, it is no use if you can't work due to ill-health.

So you will need to look after your lungs and your back as you only get one set of one and one of the other.
Personally, I would get a bank loan and buy a dust extracting drill as soon as possible.

You'll also need the best quality instruments you can afford, otherwise you're on the road to RSI.

Too many people start out forgetting that the best asset to their business is themselves.

I hope you will accept this advice in the spirit in which it was meant.

regards

Catfoot

 

This may seem daft but where would the best place be to purchase paper towels, hx spray and a foot rest. Also how do you dispose of clinical waste? in the paper towels and place in a bag? Do you need to write up records for every person treated?

 

rboone, if you are currently training you will be aware of the legislation surrounding record keeping. Yes, is the answer, you must keep full and accurate records for everyone you treat. This is abc podiatry, you need to look into this more carefully in order to protect yourself and your clients.

 

Oh and also with regards to clinical waste there was an interesting thread about this started by footsiegirl a few weeks ago.

 

"do you need to write up records for every person treated"

are you kidding me?:wacko:

I presume your not a Podiatrist?

 

Re clinical waste, I bundle mine up in my used gloves, and so long as your waste is not infected / bloody (fingers crossed) you can dispose of it in your patients domestic bin.

 

G Flanaghan,
This person does say they are HPC registered

rboone,
Will you please wake up and smell the coffee?
If you are to be working as an HPC registered practitioner I would suggest you have a look at the Standards you are required to follow, especially 2b.5

http://www.hpc-uk.org/publications/standards/index.asp?id=41

regards

Catfoot

 

Just to digress a little (and BTW I agree with you about dust extraction which I have used continuously since 1976), I'm familiar with studies carried out specific to Podiatrists which show how naildust is potentially harmful., and certainly unpleasant.

Has anyone looked at the effects of naildust on all those chiropodists who were drilling nails before dust extraction was introduced? My father was a chiropodist for around 40 years.
He worked in Private Practice (sold his first Paractice to Colin Dagnall) and for Dr Scholls (in the days when Scholls only employed SRcH chiro's).
He saw a lot of patients, and never used dust extraction in his life. He lived until he was 84 - not too bad for someone who at one point smoked 80 a day.

I don't remember any naildust health issues, either in him or his similar-aged colleaues, or in any of the staff in the three NHS Districts (Lincoln and Lindsay, Sunderland, Newcastle upon Tyne)which I worked in until 1976 .
I also don't remember any naildust health issues being flagged up at College, or at the Society of Chiropodists Newcastle Branch, which at that time was strong and vibrant, with over 70 members.

Just curious.

 

davidh,
see

http://www.articlepros.com/business/Chinese-Marketing/article-480264.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupational_hazards_associated_with_exposure_to_human_nail_dust

http://oem.bmj.com/content/65/3/216.extract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2078045/

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2222.1983.tb02605.x/abstract

your dad was quite a lucky chappie, wasn't he?

regards

Catfoot

 

2 of your refs cite the same Paper whilst another is unavailable.

Wikipedia?

Dad was lucky - it seems most of his colleagues, co-workers, and contemporaries were too

Thanks for answering.

 

davidh,
The contempories you mention are probably dead by now and unless you have seen all the death certificates you cannot say that nail dust did not have a hand in their demise.
I know of two pods of that era (trained 1950's) who both had respiratory problems. One smoked heavily and one didn't smoke at all. I can't say that it was nail dust that was responsible for their health problems and eventual death, but neither can I say it wasn't.Unless someone does a mortality study on podiatrists I guess we will never know.

Now there's a suggestion for a topic for an undergraduate thesis.

We are seeing more examples of allergies, asthma and diabetes than we were 30 years ago. No-one seems to know why. Is it lifestyle/diet/exposure to chemicals/pollutants/e-numbers?

So the answer to your original question is that I don't know, and I suspect no-one else does either.

regards

Catfoot

 

CF,

Yes, that's pretty much what I've observed too.

Having established (in another thread) that Salford don't, do any UK Pod Schools allow undergrads to choose and carry out their own research project from beginning to end any more?
If so this would be a goody.

Cheers,

Davidh

 

rboone you say you are reg with HPC, i wonder if this is as another health professional, perhaps you are a nurse?

 

I have been doing this type of work for 25 years. Theres heaps to tell you, but basically I collect the debris in a large smooth towel and shake it into a plastic bag between clients, for disposal at end of session.
You need a "tool box" , file, sterile bandaids, sterile gauze, business cards, receipt book, pen, name badge, etc...Contact me on hjwoods@gmail.com. I am looking for someone to join my business in Christchurch NZ, if you want to get off to a flying start.

 

Lizzy1so,
You said

which is a good question.

rboone, can you tell us what profession you are in?

thanks

Catfoot

 

Since when do nurses register with the HPC?

rboone- with respect, get onto your computer and work a lot of this out for yourself. If you managed to get adegree I am sure you can work out what you are going to need for the job, after all you would have spent 3 years using equipment and consumables. If you belong to a professional body they will have guidelines for pp. YOu can get plenty of information from this site but most of it is personal preference for each pod and may not be appropriate for you.

Sorry to sound harsh but you could go round in circles if you rely on multiple comments.

CM

 

Hi Catfoot, no problem and good advice. And I agree we need a Welsh flag here!

 

do i have to write up notes you are taking the p-- are you not just another sad money grabber with no idea this profession goes from bad to worst just goes to show hpc registration is a joke

 

I am a podiatrist, graduated in 2008 and worked in private practice on my own with 14 clients a day for 13 months. I trained pods to work for the company i worked for. I'm sorry that question was very stupid "do i need to write up records for friends family relatives in the area i live when visiting homes" i've had alot of people treat patients without keeping records so i will be speaking to them. I've obviously kept patients records in private practice. I'm new to setting up myself. If nhs jobs were available in northern ireland i would be applying.

 

I'm still preparing to work for myself, I have not treated anyone yet.

 

thank god for that you dont need records to cut your moms toe nails but for anybody else full notes medical history you have a duty of care how can you be a degree graduate and be asking these questions you need mentoring and experience before you unleash yourself onto the general public sounds like you need alot of prep

 

rboone,

Well thank the Lord for that !

Were you asleep on the job ?!

No you didn't. You trained Nails Cutters or Foot Health Specialists or Foot Care Persons or any other fancy title you want to give them. A degree in Podiatry is the only way to become a pod. If these people you trained are holding out to be pods they are breaking the law and could have a £5,000 fine heading their way.

If you want to make your way in the wonderful world of commerce you need to get a grip and fast

Forget about buying stock and equipment for the moment as you need to get yourself up to speed

Read the link I gave you about HPC standards so you'll know what your level of service has to be.

Check out this thread on starting up in PP ,

http://www.podiatry-arena.com/podiatry-forum/showthread.php?t=60875

Skill up on tax matters, recordkeeping, book-keeping, marketing and writing a business plan. You may want to go to night-school to do some courses in these topics. Maybe your local Chamber of Commerce or Federation of Small Businesses can help you here? I'm sure that the Inland Revenue can be very helpful to small businesses just setting up.

Find a pod to "shadow" and see what's it's really like working for yourself.

And please, please, please, I beg you do not take a pair of nail-clippers to anyone except your Auntie Molly and your dog, until you feel confident to go out there in the market-place and be an ambassador for the Profession.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and lie down in a darkened room. :bang:

Catfoot

 

Just a few points:

I concur with CF re nail dust. Also, with regard to purchasing a Dremel, quite apart from the dust extraction issue, you need to ensure that it can be cleaned properly after each use. IE: does it have sealed in switches etc. Also, if you are left handed it wont be of any use as it only rotates one way!

I would advise that you take a look at legislation regarding self employment, in addition to that required for health practitioners. If you do that then much of what you have asked will become evident.

I would go into a lot of other issues here, but there are too many to list!

 

rboone,
this all may sound a bit harsh, but all the advice (and some of the ribbing) will stand you in good stead, good for you for sticking with this thread, its not easy to ask advice from your peers and then take on the chin the bad news. If you let us know your general area perhaps someone will be kind enough to offer themselves as a PP mentor. Good luck and remember: black ink, date and time, SOAPE, initial all mistakes and store securely

 

have u guys not entered the modern digital age no paper records please havent used em for 16 years computers laptops pen ink a bit charles dickens a wham song comes to mind if yuor gona do it do it well

 

Yes, its the way to go...

Just need to remember the Data Protection Act and any other legislation. Although it may be desirable to register with the Information Commissioner if your records are not computer based, it is mandatory to do so, if your records are...

 

yep, i use a digital records system, but it was (is) a big investment, and this person is just starting out.

 

Yes but if they buy themselves the right system - which needn't cost the earth (say £200), they will have a tool they can use to do their accounts on spreadsheet too, as well as recall patients, write to GPS and so on...that small investment is a worthwhile one.

 

Fishpod

I don't care how you keep your records but could you please use punctuation when posting on the forum.

Thank you
CM

 

The point is to keep full and accurate records, I choose to use a digital system for several reasons but mainly because I am badly organised and chronically dyslexic (watching my punctaution on this post though others prefer paper based. Choice is good, would I recommend a digital system for a new practice, probably not, but thats just my opinion.

 

I agree with you regarding keeping full and accurate records, but based on my experience of NOT having had computer based records to begin with, and wishing that I had (!) I feel it could save precious time (time equals money) in the longer term, to start out with the computer. :wacko:

 

sorry about the punctuaton cornmerchant but ill never change i dont waste energy with punc or grama on here i type to fast make lots of errors fortunatly not on the pts records have to type slow

 

Maybe this is not the right sort of forum for you then fishpod.

You could actually make the effort and look professional, I dont see anyone else posting in this way.

CM

 

wrong dude ipassed english language 36 yrs ago sowat its about opinions help good advice not spelling or punctuation hey i lef:santa2:t school 32 yrs ago ur in the wrong job consider teaching english