Stepping forwards into the future
The Australian Podiatry Association says aged care providers need adequate funding to deliver foot care older Australians need.
Increasing admission to podiatry programs at Australia’s universities and talking more about the benefits of a career in aged care are key to solving the current workforce shortages the sector is experiencing, a spokesperson for the podiatry peak has told Australian Ageing Agenda.
According to Robert Mullins, chair of the Australian Podiatry Association’s aged care special interest group, older Australians in need of or receiving podiatry services are among the most vulnerable in the nation.
“Podiatry plays an integral part in a holistic manner of overall wellbeing and health,” Mr Mullins told AAA.
There are currently over 456,000 individuals using residential and home-based aged care services in Australia. The problem is, there are not enough podiatrists to service those in need.
“The major challenge at the moment is workforce shortages. Podiatry is a small profession, and as our population ages there is more and more need for podiatrists to support our aged care sector,” said Mr Mullins, national podiatry manager at aged care allied health service provider Plena Healthcare.
“At our current workforce levels, podiatrists will be forced to increase their workloads which may further diminish the number of podiatrists working. Our profession needs to focus on increasing the workforce.”
Mr Mullins said minimum requirements for podiatry services in aged care, plus adequate funding to aged care providers to deliver this care are required to solve the challenges.
“Podiatry as we know requires not only the workforce, but also the specialised instruments, sterilisation, consumables, etcetera, all of which cost money,” said Mr Mullins who was speaking with AAA for Podiatry Week.
“Without proper funding… providers are left to squeeze what little they have to pay for podiatry. The industry desperately needs guidelines which provide minimum service levels and funding for that service.”
The Australian healthcare system spends $3 billion dollars per year on chronic wounds and Mr Mullins says they could be saving billions if they considered podiatry’s benefits.
“Research suggests investing in evidence-based podiatric care for Australians with diabetic foot ulcers could save up to $2.7 billion over five years, which represents a savings of $12,000 per person over 75 years of age,” Mr Mullins said.
Podiatry Week runs 14-20 October to raise awareness of the full scope of the podiatry profession.
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