Invitation to join the English Diabetes Footcare Network
BAPO strongly recommend that Orthotists working in diabetes in England join this new MDT network.
To register for the network, visit edfn.org/register.
The English Diabetes Footcare Network (EDFN) is an online community dedicated to the improvement of diabetes footcare in England. It is supported by both the British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists and the College of Podiatry.
The network will encourage the dissemination of best practice, provide a professional forum & support education, offering both webinars and podcasts. The latest news will be shared, alongside monthly newsletters and stage for an annual conference with awards.
It was formed by a group of interested diabetes foot champions, including Christian Pankhurst (Orthotist), Dr Paul Chadwick, Professor Mike Edmonds, Alistair McInnes and Richard Leigh. Together this group has developed a steering group to establish a network across England.
Christian Pankhurst, who is a Clinical Specialist Orthotist within Guy’s & St. Thomas’, said: “This is a long-awaited opportunity to link the clinical networks across the country to provide a multi-disciplinary focus for strategic developments, share best practice and advise relevant stakeholders on matters relating to service delivery and improvements in England for diabetes-related foot and lower limb disease.”
Chair Richard Leigh, who is a Consultant Podiatrist from Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, said: “If you are involved in diabetes footcare, join our network and become part of a new community dedicated to improving care and reducing amputations.
We are passionate about raising the standards of diabetes footcare and believe this network will provide a much-needed platform to share the best ways of working across the country, pick up examples of best practice and provide a single voice for our community.”
In England, the development of sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs) and the bids for NHS England Diabetes Fund for multidisciplinary diabetes footcare team (MDFT) transformation, with its focus on foot disease, has led to development of innovations in practice and new ways of working.
However, there was no robust mechanism for sharing these new ways of working across England and the wider UK, with developments and duplication of work occurring at regional levels among the 12 NHS England clinical networks, without their benefit being felt more widely.
In response, a scoping exercise was carried out and the need for a national network was identified.
The network is now launching an ambitious national improvement programme to drive up standards of diabetes footcare in England.
The first meeting of the English Diabetes Footcare Network was held in London at the College of Podiatry in March 2019.
