Terms & Conditions of Business

Introduction

Zest Podiatry & Physio is the trading partner of Zest Allied Health Professionals Limited. The company registration number is 11602617
All our clinical staff are members of the College of Podiatry and have professional indemnity insurance – please see more information at https://cop.org.uk/about-us1
To practice as a podiatrist, all podiatrists have to be registered with the HCPC (Health & Care Professions Council) which ensures professional competency- please see more information at https://www.hcpc-uk.org/about-us/what-we-do/
Podiatrists diagnose and treat conditions relating to the lower limb following a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree and in the UK, podiatrists are part of the Allied Health Professionals, http://www.england.nhs.uk/ahp/role/
All of our clinical treatments are evidence based, and all of our podiatrists have been trained to deliver them to the highest standard. We are all committed to continuous educational improvement and take a keen interest in new innovations or ways to improve our service.

The clinic

The clinic is a purpose built healthcare setting that has a patient reception area, 4 clinical treatment rooms, a gait analysis room and a patient toilet (disabled access). There is a garden with Rehab fitness room and space for small class/fitness work.
Supporting the clinical function there is a kitchen, office and decontamination room for equipment cleaning and sterilisation.
All treatments are by appointment only and emergency appointments can be made on the day. Appointment can be made via our receptionist on 01865 236050 (9am – 5pm) or online via our website https://www.zestpodiatry.co.uk
The clinic is open Monday – Thursday 9am to 5pm, Friday 9am to 1pm and every 4th Saturday 9am to 3pm
For those who are unable to attend the clinic due to mobility conditions, we offer a limited home visit (subject to clinician availability and location).

General Podiatry

All general podiatry treatments are done in the clinic and are (up to) 30 minutes in duration
All initial consultations start by checking the patient’s medical history form which includes details of any known allergies, medical conditions (previous and current) and details of any medications or treatments being undertaken. This form is sent out to patients by email for completion and submission before their appointment date with their confirmation and reminder email.
A consent is given by the patient before the podiatrist can treat and this is included in the Medical History Form.
A diagnosis will be made by the podiatrist before agreeing a treatment plan with the patient. In most cases, treatment can be done within the first consultation. Podiatry treatments typically involve: nail cutting/reduction, corn/callus removal, wound management, verrucae treatments, fungal skin/nail treatments.
Treatments can include advice/education, short & long term treatments and reviews. Should a patient need referring to a doctor or other healthcare professional we will do this as part of our treatment plan, in agreement with the patient.
A summary of the Treatment Plan will be sent to the patient’s GP unless indicated by the patient.

Specialist Podiatry

Podiatrists are also qualified and trained to carry out specialist treatments such Nail Surgery, Verruca Needling, Microwave therapy for verrucae, MSK (musculoskeletal ) assessments, Orthotic provision, Steroid Injection therapy, Shockwave therapy, Gait analysis
In addition to the treatments, we have a POM (prescription-only medicines) licence to use and supply certain medications. These are used as part of our patient treatments ie. Steroid, local anaesthetic, antibiotics, fungal nail treatments

Equipment

All equipment used in the clinic is designed and tested for that specific use. It is regularly maintained and all staff using the equipment have been trained in its use.
Any equipment used with patients is either single use i.e scalpel blades, needles, tips. If reusable, it is cleaned and autoclaved in accordance with our strict infection control procedures.

The appointment

For initial appointments, we take a 50% deposit (telephone booking) or 100% payment (online). Should a patient need to change or cancel their appointment we ask that we are given 24 hours notice so as not to lose the payment made.
As per our strict adherence to the Covid 19 guidelines we have to ask all patients to complete a declaration form 24 hours pre-appointment. This will be sent along with your appointment reminder email. If any patient has symptoms or been in contact with anyone inside/outside their household with Covid-19 Symptoms, we ask them not to attend their appointment and to contact us.
For specialist treatment, we send specific guidance about what to expect, what to wear, special considerations before the appointment, via email.
If a patient has any queries relating to their appointment they can contact us at reception@zestpodiatry.co.uk and we will deal with the query as appropriate.
We will remind patients of their booked appointments via email 48 hours before appointment, or via telephone (if no email exists).
On the day of the appointment we ask patients to arrive in time for their appointment and advise us of any delays.

Covid-19

As per our Covid-19 guidelines, if patients have travelled by car they are asked to wait in their car until the appointment time or come into our reception area. If patients have travelled by foot, bike, bus and arrive early, we will bring them into our reception area. If the door is closed, the patients can ring the doorbell and a member of staff will greet them.
We ask that patients sanitise their hands on arrival and we routinely check forehead temperatures. Due to social distancing, we ask that only the patients come into the clinic (unless they are with a parent or carer). Patients need to wear a mask/face covering during their visit, and the NHS Covid 19 QR code is available to use in the clinic.
This reception area will be cleaned routinely after each patient.
Water is available for patients to drink and a patient toilet is also available.

Treatment & Prices

General podiatry and specialist podiatry prices are published on our website www.zestpodiatry.co.uk. Podiatry prices are not subject to VAT
For all new patients we take a 50% deposit if booking via our reception team or if booking online the full treatment fee is payable at the time of booking.