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Dear Colleagues

For those of you interested in politics, podiatry will be on the agenda
tomorrow (Tuesday 2 November) at Westminster during Health Questions (Q8 if I recall).

A briefing will also be given in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 3
November at 5pm in Committee Rm 4. You are most welcome to attend.

Best wishes

Mark Russell

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Hi Mark,
I for one would be interested in comments from our leading professional bodies
(SCP and SMAE) regarding these developments (the above + the Scottish Petition).
I have to admit to being a little baffled as to why the SCP spokesperson prefers to use the academic forum (jiscmail) to voice his opinions, rather than this forum
Cheers,
David

The first cross-party briefing session with politicians was held in the contemporary splendour of Scotland’s new parliament building in Edinburgh on Wednesday 3 November. This event followed the debate on podiatry provision in May, where, for the first time in any British parliament, politicians examined the issues surrounding the delivery of services and care that we provide.

The session was reasonably well attended with around twenty members of the profession and half a dozen members of parliament – including the deputy convenor.

Mr Ralph Graham started the proceedings with an eloquent speech, which highlighted the perennial problem of capacity and demand within the National health Service. He then went on to explain the benefits of podiatric surgery and touched on the agreement between the Society and the Royal College of Surgeons (Edin) that resulted in the joint initiative MSc (Surgery), which started earlier this year.

Mr Stephen Moore from the Society then spoke at length regarding workforce planning – a subject he covered in October during his evidence to the Health Committee in Holyrood. He explained some of the initiatives that were running in Scotland’s health service, including new posts for podiatry educators and researchers. Stephen also reinforced the maxim that “NHS Scotland Podiatry Services exist to ensure that the people of Scotland can achieve their optimum mobility and independence of movement, with the minimum of pain and disability, enabling them to undertake active, healthy and productive lives.” The debate was then opened to the floor.

Mary Scanlon MSP welcomed the profession’s willingness to highlight the difficulties it faces in the delivery of its care and stressed the importance of communication between members and politicians. This was a central theme of her keynote speech a week earlier at the Society’s annual conference in Glasgow. Mary enquired what solutions the profession was considering in addressing the problems surrounding capacity.

Mr David Wylie (Podiatry Manager Glasgow) explained the current approach to skill mixing and offered a portrayal of the podiatry triage system that is being used in Glasgow at present. David also spoke at length about the Scottish Managers Forum and the work it has been doing in relation to service redesign.

Mr Stephen Moore supported this with an illustration of the use of the voluntary sector in supporting clinical practice for ‘low risk’ patients. He also stressed the importance of training new grades of professionals – assistant grade practitioners - to support specialist podiatrists in their daily work.

Dr Jean Turner MSP asked what measures could be taken to increase the workforce to cope with rising demand from all sectors.

Mr Stuart Baird (Head of School in Glasgow) explained the limitations of producing more graduates within the current educational boundaries, suggesting that with the right amount of support and resources, his school could increase its output by up to 15 graduates each year. A discussion followed on how this could be achieved.

Mr Mike Rumbles MSP also offered his support to the profession in its quest to secure a greater share of the health budget explaining he had a vested interest in podiatry’s future – his wife is a practising member in Grampian. Mike also touched on the problems with capacity and urged the profession to consider imaginative delivery options for future provision.

Mr Ralph Graham reinforced the tiered approach to care – from empowering carers and family members and harnessing the voluntary and social services to assist the NHS in patient care – through to the use of podiatric surgeons to assist in reducing orthopaedic waiting times.

Mr Stephen Moore then introduced one of his podiatry team in the western isles whose role it is to educate and train members of the public and voluntary sector in the provision of low-risk foot care.

Mr Graham Pirie made a valuable submission towards the close of proceedings regarding sterilisation of instruments. It was explained how much of an impact this would have on services at current funding levels.

Mr Brian Christie (Podiatry Manager Tayside) remarked that the cost of providing sterile instruments would be greater than his entire budget at present. Mr David Wylie supported this position adding that if disposable instruments were used instead, the resulting stockpile would fill one of Scotland’s lochs in a very short time! Mr Ralph Graham explained the thinking behind the initiative and suggested that there was no need for this approach in general podiatric practice as evidence showed that cross-contamination with prions did not occur with non-surgical chiropodial procedures.

Trish Gorman MSP (Deputy Convenor) interjected some controversy when she remarked that recently she had taken to having a pedicure and found it a wonderful experience. Some members of the profession were clearly in a state of apoplexy over the choice of her words but Mary Scanlon redressed the balance and restored order by explaining to the Deputy Convenor the folly of her ways.

The session concluded at 7pm with an undertaking from the members of parliament to hold further meetings with the profession during the coming year. An pledge was also given to secure access to the Health Minister to highlight the problems surrounding NHS practice.

The Society had produced a briefing paper for the event entitled “Developing a Podiatry Framework for NHS Scotland” and this was distributed to those present during refreshments at the close of proceedings.

My thanks to the Society for accepting the invitation to attend, especially their Scottish Liaison Officer, Karen Utting, for co-ordinating with Mary Scanlon’s office. My thanks also to the five podiatry managers, Mr Christie (Tayside), Mr Wylie (Glasgow), Mr McCrossan (Lanarkshire), Mr Moore (Western Isles) and Ms Donald (Lothian) and nine of their NHS staff who made the effort to travel to Parliament. Thanks also to Mr Stuart Baird and Mr Ralph Graham who, along with Mr Stephen Moore are members of the Society’s Council.

Mark Russell

6 November 2004

Mark - thanks for the valuable posts .... much appeciated.:)

Mark,
The NHS clearly have a problem with volume foot-health delivery.
Isn't it obvious that the simplest solution would be to devolve footcare into regulated private practice ?
After all, the private practitioners already exist....
The bricks and mortar already exist...
The chairs, units, instruments already exist....

The profession (made up largely, as far as I could see from your report, of SCP members with a vested interest in keeping NHS podiatry a separate entity) represented at this meeting would then not have to seek unusual/untried solutions, such as use of the voluntary sector for low risk patients .

Would you be willing to share your own thoughts/observations on this?
Cheers,
David

From looking at the SCP forum today it would seem that the SCP are taking the credit for organising this meeting, and further, that they actively talked about private practice as being an option to deal with too many pod patients/not enough NHS pods.
Mark, can you confirm or deny that these statements?
Regards,
David

Hi Dave

If I may I'll come back on all these issues in the coming few days. The purpose of staging a brief was two-fold - it gave the professional hierarchy access to a non-partisan political audience and it revealed the Society's strategy for developing practice in the UK. The latter is something many of us have been enquiring about for some time, but to no avail. Now we know. My observations and recommendations will follow shortly.

Kind regards

Mark Russell

Thanks Mark,
I and many others are aware that you, whilst holding no brief for any third party, are au-fait with the current political scene in the UK as regards podiatry. Your viewpoint is of great value to the profession, since you have no vested interests, other than those of the profession and it's patients.

To my mind, the ramifications of devolving some NHS work into a structured private practice scenerio could be hugely beneficial to three parties; the profession as a whole, the private practitioner (his/her income anyway), and last, but by no means least, the patient :) .

Look forward to your clarification, comments and impressions in due course.
Regards,
David

The following were lodged in the Scotish Parliament:
S2W-12055 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive whether all patients with an assessed clinical need for podiatry will be provided with care and treatment free at the point of delivery.
S2W-12056 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that all patients receiving podiatric care are treated by appropriately-trained and clinically-competent staff.
S2W-12057 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive whether national waiting time targets will be set and monitored for podiatric care based upon assessed clinical need.
S2W-12058 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans for patients requiring podiatric care to be able to self-refer to open access clinics.
S2W-12059 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce emergency clinics for patients with acute foot problems.S2W-12060 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to develop podiatry assistant or assistant practitioner-led clinics for (a) patients with specific foot health needs and (b) foot health education.
S2W-12061 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive how patients gain access to podiatry care for the management of (a) gait and mobility problems and (b) musculo-skeletal disease.
S2W-12062 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that patients suffering from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are given access to early podiatric intervention to address the risks of developing severe deformities of the feet, ulceration and infection, on a similar basis to people with diabetes.
S2W-12063 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to develop extended roles, skills enhancement and access to a wider range of assessment tools to allow podiatrists to make a significant impact on prevention of lower limb amputations.
S2W-12064 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that elderly people receive good foot health and footwear advice in order to prevent foot and gait-related problems and in order to meet the NHS’s target of increasing the number of older people taking physical exercise.

The following answers were received today regarding podiatry provision in Scotland.

Yours sincerely

Mark Russell

**********************************************

SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
WRITTEN ANSWER
10 November 2004
Index Heading: Health Department
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many podiatry patients have been treated in (a) the community and (b) hospital in each of the last five years.
(S2W-11831)
Mr Andy Kerr:

The available information showing the number of new podiatry patients treated in Scotland is presented in the table:

NHSScotland New Podiatry Patients
Patients treated Hospital1 Patients treated Community2
1999 69,715 424,418
2000 61,151 424,808
2001 60,102 437,478
2002 58,928 431,232
2003 54,651 445,068p
2004 57,088p n/a

1 year ending March
2 year ending December
p provisional

Source: ISD Scotland Forms (ISD(S)1, ISD(S)8

*************************************************

SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
WRITTEN ANSWER
10 November 2004
Index Heading: Health Department
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what provision is made to ensure that children are screened to detect foot problems and help prevent conditions that develop as a result of defective and abnormal gait.
(S2W-11833)
Mr Andy Kerr:

There is currently no national screening programme for the detection of foot problems or abnormal gait in children. The most recent Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health review of childhood screening and surveillance activity found little evidence to support a formal screening programme for defective or abnormal gait. However, a check of the hips is part of the general physical examination of all children within the first 24 hours of birth and at 6-8 weeks. Health professionals will also explore any cause for concern in the course of their regular contact with children and their families. Information about local practice is not held centrally.

************************************


SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
WRITTEN ANSWER
10 November 2004
Index Heading: Health Department
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many podiatric surgeons are currently being trained in Scotland.
(S2W-11832)
Mr Andy Kerr:

Twenty students have registered for the first year of the recently introduced MSc in the theory of podiatric surgery being run jointly by Glasgow Caledonian University and Queen Margaret University College.


SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE

Mark's posting reminds me of a little gem from Colin Dagnell's British Journal of Chiropody many years ago and it referred to Hassard on the 21st October, the year escapes me. In parliament (London) John Smith (sadly lamented parliamentarian who would in my humble opinion made an excellent Prime Minister) took to his feet during a debate on 'Closure of the Podiatry professio' and reminded the house that this was the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar (21st of October 1805), and why on Earth would the seat of government concern itself with such trivia.

What Smith perhaps was unaware of, was the Duke of Wellington despised all corn operators and said so, quite publically. He was of the belief all people with sore feet deserved them and would not have a general in his army who complained of sore feet. He sued at least one corn operator for having the audacity to involve his name as a form of quasi endorsement of the toe nail clippers services. Napoleon on the other hand (or was it foot) had as his best friend and confident his corn cutter. The foot man accommpanied the Boggieman throughout all his campaigns and was held captive with him on board ship in the port of in Elba. The Brits could not get Nappy's inner circle to spill the beans on the Napoleon's plans and offered immunity to anyone who was able to put a foot on British soil. The only one to jump ship when the guards turned a blind eye was the corn cutter. He was given his freedom in return and allowed to set up in business in London.

With the above in mind perhaps the conflict between Britain and France had more to do with the rights to foot care, than Smith and other detractors might have realised. It is interesting to note that everytime closure of the profession has been on statute it has corresponded to a time of major national disaster, like WWI and II and the Falklands. What is it about feet that brings the worst out in bipeds?

Comments please. :-)


Have a good one

__________________

Cameron Kippen, Podologist and Shoe Historian




Cameron Kippen

SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
WRITTEN ANSWER
12 November 2004
Index Heading: Health Department
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures are in place to assure patients that all podiatrists are trained, qualified and fit to practice.
(S2W-11501)
Mr Andy Kerr:

Since July 2003, podiatry is a protected title. This means that all podiatrists must have undergone the minimum of a 3 year undergraduate degree programme or an honours degree. Successful completion of the education programmes leads to registration by the Health Professions Council (HPC). The HPC is an independent, UK wide regulatory body responsible for setting and maintaining standards of professional training, performance and conduct of the professions it regulates. Registration is also a condition of employment. It is an offence to practice as a podiatrist while unregistered and anyone who does is subject to prosecution. The education programmes are quality assured by the Quality Assurance Agency to make sure that graduates are fit to practice.

Non registered professionals who have used the now protected title prior to July 2003 must undergo a “grandparenting” process. This means that they must have been engaged in the lawful, safe and effective practice in the profession they wish to be registered in for a period of three out of the last five years. If they fall short of this they must demonstrate that they have undergone additional training and experience that satisfies the HPC that they have the requisite standard of proficiency for admission to the register.


SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE


Comments?

Written answers to the questions lodged earlier this month. Any comments?

Mark Russell

************************************************
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
WRITTEN ANSWER
19 November 2004
Index Heading: Health Department
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all patients with an assessed clinical need for podiatry will be provided with care and treatment free at the point of delivery.
(S2W-12055)
Mr Andy Kerr:

The planning and provision of NHS podiatry services is a matter for NHS boards. As part of NHS service provision there is no charge to patients for NHS podiatry services.



SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
WRITTEN ANSWER
19 November 2004
Index Heading: Health Department
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that all patients receiving podiatric care are treated by appropriately-trained and clinically-competent staff.
(S2W-12056)
Mr Andy Kerr:

NHS Boards and Operating Divisions are responsibility for both clinical and staff governance. They must therefore ensure that all Allied Health Professionals, including Podiatrists, are registered to practice with the Health Professions Council and that they are appropriately trained.




SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
WRITTEN ANSWER
19 November 2004
Index Heading: Health Department
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether national waiting time targets will be set and monitored for podiatric care based upon assessed clinical need.
(S2W-12057)
Mr Andy Kerr

There are no plans to include podiatric care in the national waiting time targets.



SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
WRITTEN ANSWER
19 November 2004
Index Heading: Health Department
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans for patients requiring podiatric care to be able to self-refer to open access clinics.
(S2W-12058)
Mr Andy Kerr:

The planning and provision of NHS podiatry services is a matter for NHS boards. The issue of access to NHS podiatry services is a matter for clinical decision in the light of the health needs of individual patients.



SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
WRITTEN ANSWER
19 November 2004
Index Heading: Health Department
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce emergency clinics for patients with acute foot problems.
(S2W-12059)
Mr Andy Kerr:

There are no plans to introduce emergency clinics for patients with acute foot problems. The planning and provision of NHS podiatry services is a matter for NHS boards. The issue of access to NHS podiatry services is a matter for clinical decision in the light of the health needs of individual patients.




SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
WRITTEN ANSWER
19 November 2004
Index Heading: Health Department
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to develop podiatry assistant or assistant practitioner-led clinics for (a) patients with specific foot health needs and (b) foot health education.
(S2W-12060)
Mr Andy Kerr:

The planning and provision of NHS podiatry services is a matter for NHS boards. The issue of access to NHS podiatry services is a matter for clinical decision in the light of the health needs of individual patients.

The Allied Health Professions Officer in the Scottish Executive has commissioned a national consultation on Allied Health Professions role development, which includes podiatrists, and this is currently underway.




SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
WRITTEN ANSWER
19 November 2004
Index Heading: Health Department
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how patients gain access to podiatry care for the management of (a) gait and mobility problems and (b) musculo-skeletal disease.
(S2W-12061)
Mr Andy Kerr:

The planning and provision of NHS podiatry services is a matter for NHS boards. The issue of access to NHS podiatry services is a matter for clinical decision in the light of the health needs of individual patients.




SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
WRITTEN ANSWER
19 November 2004
Index Heading: Health Department
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that patients suffering from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are given access to early podiatric intervention to address the risks of developing severe deformities of the feet, ulceration and infection, on a similar basis to people with diabetes.
(S2W-12062)
Mr Andy Kerr:

The planning and provision of NHS podiatry services is a matter for NHS boards. The issue of access to NHS podiatry services is a matter for clinical decision in the light of the health needs of individual patients.




SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
WRITTEN ANSWER
19 November 2004
Index Heading: Health Department
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to develop extended roles, skills enhancement and access to a wider range of assessment tools to allow podiatrists to make a significant impact on prevention of lower-limb amputations.
(S2W-12063)
Mr Andy Kerr:

The planning and provision of NHS podiatry services are matters for NHS Boards. The Allied Health Professions Officer in the Scottish Executive has commissioned a national consultation on Allied Health Professions role development, which includes podiatrists, and this is currently underway. The consultation will inform the development of a generic Framework for role development.


************************************************** **

Well they certainly like this sentence: "The planning and provision of NHS podiatry services is a matter for NHS boards."

It seems that they don't really want to address these issues...

I'm wondering then who exactly are the NHS boards, and how could they be influenced by us?

Cheers,

Robin.

Good question Robin.
Mark has the answer on who the NHS Boards are/ are answerable to.

How can they be influenced? (Why are more UK pods not asking this ).

Follow this thread :) !
Regards,
David

Hi Robin

Quote

"It seems that they don't really want to address these issues..."

I think the Scottish Executive have ( see post 13 in this thread)

Nice to see common sense prevailing in Scotland as well .

To unify rather than divide .

Hopefully the HPC will prevail in Scotland under that name or any other but bound by the same rules and regulation.

Best wishes

Derek

Aye right Derek. Keep taking the medication. It's the best policy!

There are fifteen Health Boards in Scotland, in simple terms Health Boards are charged with commissioning health care for a designated population. Their structure, the non-executive directors of the Board and their funding (based around a complex formula – the Arbuthnott Formula) is controlled centrally by the Scottish Executive Health Department (a civil service arm of the Government).

The Health Boards are as follows (lets hope I do not get it wrong as I will never live it down!)

Dumfries and Galloway Health Board
Borders Health Board
Lanarkshire Health Board
Ayrshire and Arran Health Board
Argyll and Clyde Health Board
Greater Glasgow Health Board
Lothian Health Board
Forth Valley Health Board
Fife Health Board
Tayside Health Board
Grampian Health Board
Highland Health Board
Western Isles Health Board (where I am Head of Podiatry)
Orkney Health Board
Shetland Health Board

Go to Scottish Health on the Web website for more information, link below

Scottish Health on the Web


The response from the Minister is typical of any politician (its not me its them!)

[B]“The planning and provision of NHS podiatry services is a matter for NHS boards.”[/B]

Sure planning of local services to meet the needs of the population is a responsibility of Health Boards, but how do you ensure that there is a NATIONAL Health Services. Podiatry by postcode is a very real problem in England and there are unfortunately signs of this migrating north of the border.

Government must (with advice!!) set out what it wishes to see delivered nationally, it is then up to individual Health Boards to determine how this will be achieved, what resources will be made available etc..

[B]“The issue of access to NHS podiatry services is a matter for clinical decision in the light of the health needs of individual patients.” [/b] – not to do with the availability of funding, staff etc. how re-assuring.

It is important to understand however, that Scotland has a devolved government and more importantly Health care is devolved to the Scottish Parliament. Therefore Scotland is not forced, required or otherwise to follow the approach taken in England. I am pleased that in many respects it does not and is perhaps starting to stand on its own two feet! (Lets not get into the independence debate please!) – Hopefully it will therefore understand the importance of access to podiatry care

Influencing Health Boards - best approach initially is through SEHD and local/national politicians.

Getting good evidence of the impact podiatry can have on a population, demonstrating how podiatry can deliver within the very challenging modern health care agenda.

I would recommend colleagues obtain a copy of a document produced by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (UK) which sets out the benefits of NHS Physiotherapy and a very effective way. Title has gone completely out of my head will post details later. podiatry needs a very similar documents.

Regards

Stephen

__________________
'There are no problems - only opportunities to be creative' :)

Derek

Mark Russell has posed a very interesting question to the Scottish Parliament within his e-petition (see his earlier posts)


Forget the registered/previously not registered debate, but it potentially presents a challenge to statute etc. (I do not pretend to understand for one minute the leglisative framework in which our parliament(s) operate, but as I understand it Scotland agreed to a UK wide regulator (for obvious commonsense reasons), however, the Scottish Parliament is responsible for the delivery of safe and effective healthcare. What if for what ever reason it was unhappy with the operation of the HPC, could it pull out of the agreement, force changes to UK legislation or set up its own (one presumes better) regulator?

Regards

Stephen

__________________
'There are no problems - only opportunities to be creative' :)

Its now come to me, the document is called "Making Physiotherapy Count - a range of quality assured services"

Link to document on CSP website

Regards

stephen

__________________
'There are no problems - only opportunities to be creative' :)

Stephen,
Succinctly put.
This would then lead the way for a self-regulating profession. Unification of the whole profession is certainly one of my long-term ambitions, and this would seem to be the best way to go about it.

Few would argue against the premise that a unified profession is a strong profession, but some should bear in mind that unification does not only mean unification of grandparented + degree-trained. Unification means uniting all the factions, which include private practitioners, NHS-staff, graduates, SMAE-trained, surgeons - to name but a few .

I'm a little disappointed that the SCP have not been seen to be doing more in this corner - but appreciate your personal postings which, as always, are balanced and informative.
Regards,
David

Hi Stephen

You say


"it Scotland agreed to a UK wide regulator (for obvious commonsense reasons),"

That is the HPC .

Like it or not you have it .

Best wishes

Derek

Hi Derek,
The HPC are the only regulatory body we have, but that does not mean they represent the best for us, or our profession .

I started off believing that the HPC would benefit all. I have serious doubts about that now. I think the current political scene in Scotland is interesting, and could pave the way forward for a self-regulatory podiatry body.
Not one which is going to castigate the grandparented in favour of the previously SRCh'd, but one which will work for the good of the whole profession.

Stephen's view is very valid and welcome, given that he is an SCP Council member AND an NHS Head of Podiatry Sevices.

In case you don't see the relevance, this is the first moderated forum on which SCP members, SCP Council members, former SRCh, SMAE graduates etc etc can enter into meaningful dialogue on this type of matter.
Cheers,
David

David H

My point to Stephen is , the HPC comes into force in a few months time as part of a NATIONAL scheme .

Now like it or not , that is going to happen certainly in England and Wales and at the moment I believe Scotland as well.

As I have said before I also agree with a podiatry council its the methods being used by some to get it I object to .

But I'm not going down that road again :p :)

Let's hope that the differing views expressed on this site will go some way towards solving problems and those of Stephens eminence will carry them forward to make a united profession .

Best wishes
Derek

I was always regarded as a bit of a troublemaker Stephen. It was partly due to the deviant company I kept during student days in Edinburgh. You remember the curious incident with the shark's head Syd? I still have trouble sleeping today when I think back on it! Good job Fanny never found out, huh?

I heard about that..........................................

For another time Dave. Perhaps with some festive spirit??

Just a short update on the petition that was submitted to the Public Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament last month.

I have received notification that the petition was formally lodged with Parliament on 14 December and will be considered by the Committee at its meeting on Wednesday 19 January 2005 where a statement will be made in support of the position adopted by the petition, followed by a Q & A session.

Can I just express my thanks to all those who signed the petition and sent messages of encouragement. It was much appreciated. I shall, of course, keep you informed of further progress.


Mark Russell

Colleagues

Yesterday, the Public Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament took evidence in relation to the petition submitted on 27 October 2004 regarding regulation of health professionals in Scotland. This has direct implications for podiatrists throughout the UK as it directly refers to the grand-parenting process implemented by the Health Professions Council (HPC) in 2002. At the end of the session, the committee took the decision to refer the matter to the Health Minister and to write formally to the HPC in relation to the issues raised.

Colleagues who wish to view the session can view the broadcast by clicking the link below.

The submission is third on the agenda.

Can I also thank all those who supported this petition by adding their name to the Parliament website during November, and also a big thanks to Jacqui Baggeley who gave supporting evidence on the day. Jacqui - you’re a star and the very best wishes for your big day this weekend!

Mark Russell


Petition: http://epetitions.scottish.parliamen...asp?TopicID=36

Broadcast: http://www.holyrood.tv/library.asp?i...blic+Petitions