Welcome to the Podiatry Arena forums

You are currently viewing our podiatry forum as a guest which gives you limited access to view all podiatry discussions and access our other features. By joining our free global community of Podiatrists and other interested foot health care professionals you will have access to post podiatry topics (answer and ask questions), communicate privately with other members, upload content, view attachments, receive a weekly email update of new discussions, access other special features. Registered users do not get displayed the advertisements in posted messages. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our global Podiatry community today!

  1. Have you considered the Clinical Biomechanics Boot Camp Online, for taking it to the next level? See here for more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
Have you considered the Clinical Biomechanics Boot Camp Online, for taking it to the next level? See here for more.
Dismiss Notice
Have you liked us on Facebook to get our updates? Please do. Click here for our Facebook page.
Dismiss Notice
Do you get the weekly newsletter that Podiatry Arena sends out to update everybody? If not, click here to organise this.

£8 per patient

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by Cambs Pod, May 28, 2014.

  1. Cambs Pod

    Cambs Pod Member


    Members do not see these Ads. Sign Up.
    Had a new customer yesterday wanting "only nails to be done"

    Housebound patient but that was debateable. the last person to treat the patient to do just her nails was charging £8. This was not a care home patient.

    How can someone make a living on that.
     
  2. Connie D

    Connie D Member

    They have minimum overheads because they are unregulated and not running a clinic. Above the minimum wage for minimum training. Nice work if you can get it don`t you think Simon Ross?
     
  3. Catfoot

    Catfoot Well-Known Member

    Connie D,

    How do we know they aren't regulated ?

    I assume that's a tongue-in-cheek remark. On the face of it it may be above the minimum wage, but if you factor in the travelling time and other expenses it will be quite a lot less.
     
  4. Elizabeth Humble-Thomas

    Elizabeth Humble-Thomas Active Member

    If someone has no qualifications, no regulation, only one set of unsterilised instruments and a bike, then £8 per hour isn't too bad..
    If they are qualified, regulated, multiple instruments etc then they must have very low self esteem to work for so little ..
     
  5. Connie D

    Connie D Member

    No cheeky tongues from me. I am only interested in liberation for women and of course the dollar. Who needs regulation? F(orget) Bob, Praise Connie!

    Do you have what it takes? Do you have hundreds of hours of free time? Always remember girls, what makes money? ;-)
     
  6. Elizabeth Humble-Thomas

    Elizabeth Humble-Thomas Active Member

    What???
    I reckon that private podiatrists should draw up a sensible schedule of fees for various procedures, in the way that our local vets do (although their fees are scandalously high)
    In my area, Oxford, a colleague, who retired about 5 years ago was charging £60 per treatment( 1 hour) I was charging £45 (half an hour) and Scholl were charging around £38, Boots around £40.
    My £60 colleague retired. Boots closed down, Scholl was taken over by Shuropody, currently charging around £32. A number of new podiatrists opened - all charging substantially less than I am.
    The result has been that I have not been able to increase my fee for around 5 years. Oxford is a prosperous area, and the patients were happy to pay the higher fees.
    Most other professions around here have been able to increase their fees (osteopaths, physiotherapists etc) - so why have my colleagues undermined our status, effectively cut my earnings, with retirement looming? I can only assume it is due to low self esteem ..
     
  7. Catfoot

    Catfoot Well-Known Member

    Back to the OP.

    I got so fed up with this kind of enquiry that now I have the 'phone number of a visiting beauty therapist by my 'phone. If they say they just want toe-nail cutting then I pass on this persons number saying that this person would be happy to give them a pedicure. (I do point out that they are not a chiropodist).

    Works a treat.
     
  8. Connie D

    Connie D Member

    Nah, not low self esteem. Slack. Thats what Ya'll need. Never have to read or think again, and count the dollars as they roll in.
     
  9. Catfoot

    Catfoot Well-Known Member

    Connie D,

    :confused:
     
  10. jonnorthants

    jonnorthants Member

    There is always the possiblity that the person is not telling the truth! I find it hard to believe that its possible to get your nails cut for £8 in the Cambridge area. I have had one or two phone calls over the years asking me to do it for free or nearly free and just politely say i can t help them!
     
  11. springyfeet

    springyfeet Active Member

    What is the going rate now or does it depend on area, smae are advising newly qualified foot healths to charge £30.00 per visit. Some foot health professionals
    are doing nursing homes, thought they had standards to meet or should have
    someone who is regulated, so not sure why that is happening. I do charge less
    for a nursing home, as no travelling involved once their.
     
  12. Connie D

    Connie D Member

    Awesome! Charge more unsuspecting patients and don`t bother with grammar, punctuation or sentence structure.....REMEMBER: The purest, most sublime Slack obtainable is that derived from simply avoiding THE CRAP THAT YOU HAVE TO DO. Smoke up....
     
  13. Catfoot

    Catfoot Well-Known Member

    Springyfeet,

    I believe it varies from area to area.

    I have yet to find any SMAE qualified practitioner who is charging £30.00 in this area whether FHP or pod.

    Care/nursing homes use FHPs because they are cheap.
    It's not illegal.
    Unfortunately when there is a problem, they don't have the background knowledge/training/experience to deal with it, and that's when my 'phone starts ringing.

    C F
     
  14. j1nxst3r

    j1nxst3r Member

    £8 per treatment? I wonder if they were referring to a Pod school? Up in Durham our lecturers charge around that amount to the patients we treat (although that covers ALL treatment needed within a calendar month).

    But if it were a qualified Pod, I can't see how you can realistically make a living from that... unless that person doesn't need to eat, pay rent / mortgage, travel costs, council tax, clothes.... :pigs::pigs::wacko::bang::sinking:
     
  15. Suzannethefoot

    Suzannethefoot Active Member

    Connie,

    What is 'slack' please?
     
  16. Geoff Hull Footman

    Geoff Hull Footman Active Member

    Slack is the residue from coal mining usually heaped covered with soil and grassed over to make a new hillside:D
    Or Slack singular could be an unbifurcated trouser of the Terry Pratchett style.
    Or even a loose pair without a belt!!!!!!!!:dizzy:
    Sorry just the way I am today,
    Remember the weekend starts here so I am allowed:cool:
    Geoff
     
  17. j1nxst3r

    j1nxst3r Member

    SLACK

    adjective (NOT TIGHT)

    e.g. These tent ropes are too slack - they need tightening.

    (Definition of slack adjective (NOT TIGHT) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
     
  18. Suzannethefoot

    Suzannethefoot Active Member

    I understand all of those descriptions of slack, just don't understand Connie, perhaps it's youth speak, just sounds like nonsense to me! :)
     
  19. j1nxst3r

    j1nxst3r Member

    Ah... Sorry Suzanne, it was the OCD in me that couldn't resist the clarification (that and being an ex-teacher the habit to elaborate hasn't quite died yet).

    If i'm honest I didn't fully understand it myself, but just went with the flow... as for youth speak it's a whole new ball game... you should try to get your head around 'Bubble-language' some teenagers use... I tried.... I failed ha ha

    Mike

    ps. you looking forward to conference this year?
     
  20. horseman

    horseman Active Member

    Perhaps it's a "senior" member thing? I don't understand Connie or her posts either...:dizzy:
     
  21. horseman

    horseman Active Member

     
  22. J.R. Dobbs

    J.R. Dobbs Active Member

    For all the pinks who don't understand "Slack", join the Church of the Subgenius today and you eyes will be opened to the true meaning of "Slack".
     
  23. Suzannethefoot

    Suzannethefoot Active Member

    I think Catfoots advice about having the pedicurists number by the phone is the best.
    Mike, I am too old for all of that 'funny' way of talking, and too English! ;-).
    p.s. I'm in the IOCP, we have had our conference this year already, and very good it was too! :)
     
  24. David Widdowson

    David Widdowson Active Member

    I was having enough trouble with SLACK now I have to cope with CHURCH OF THE SUBGENIUS. Am I taking the wrong tablets?
     
  25. Suzannethefoot

    Suzannethefoot Active Member

    LOL! me too. They're just odd!
     
  26. Connie D

    Connie D Member

    Slack is the ability to get what ya want without tryin`. A great example of this is when you do the laundry, but just leave everythin` in the dryer, pickin` it out as needed over the followin` week. Or takin` eight of them English pounds for a nail clippin`. In a way, that's exactly what y`all doin` now, right here on this very forum. The longer you procrastinate by lollygaggin` here, the more Slack you`ll accrue.

    Such is the Way of SubG.
     
  27. Catfoot

    Catfoot Well-Known Member

  28. Johnpod

    Johnpod Active Member

    Look what the Cat dragged in!!

    ....methinks Connie's off her troll y! Yet another idiot time-waster.
     
  29. Deb@SFC

    Deb@SFC Welcome New Poster

    Here in Salisbury I'm aware age uk offer a nail cutting service at last I heard £8. I have a clinic with overheads, and I need to be competitive but not suicidal!. Therefore once I have evaluated a patient to assess if they are suitable for only a simple nail trim, I offer this at £12. There is the benefit to those attending at my clinic that they have the benefit of a professional service with autoclaved instruments. :eek:
     
  30. Kaleidoscope

    Kaleidoscope Active Member

    Near where I am in Kent Age UK is offering nail cuts at £17! Now that's quite a difference!

    I was (told) that this price is charged after they have purchased their own 'set' that they bring with them each time - does this practice still continue?? Clearly, the instruments are not clean and may cause continuing problems especially if they use them also on others.

    Regards
    Linda
     
  31. Deb@SFC

    Deb@SFC Welcome New Poster

    Wow, that is much more. I must find out what latest price here is. Yes, they do have to purchase their own instruments and carry them back and forth, hense my comment about mine being provided freshly autoclaved. :)
     
  32. Elizabeth Humble-Thomas

    Elizabeth Humble-Thomas Active Member

    I'm going to start a new thread dealing with some kind of regulation of fees. Otherwise we just continue undermining one another, and continue to earn less than we should, given our skills and experience.
    Please join the discussion there. Thanks
     
  33. Simon Ross

    Simon Ross Active Member

    Elizabeth,

    what you are suggesting is completely illegal and amounts to price fixing/a cartel. SCP are very careful what they tell members wrt pricing!
     
  34. TNC

    TNC Member

    Probably not a qualified podiatrist but a "toenail cutting service". We have similar set ups here.
     
  35. Mike Plank

    Mike Plank Active Member

    This situation of what fee to charge comes up often on Pod Arena. A Minimum charge or price fixing is illegal however taking a survey of fees currently charged and stating the average is just a fact. I believe the average fee for routine Podiatry in the UK is roughly £35. Regional variations will obviously exist as running a Clinic in Central London will have more overheads than in rural areas. It is always good business sense to research what your competitors are charging. IMHO undercutting your competitors is foolish. It is better to compete on other factors such as the quality and range treatments you can provide.
     
  36. Deb@SFC

    Deb@SFC Welcome New Poster

    My final entry to this thread is merely to say that after 16 years in practice I have such a thriving patient list because I am constantly recommended. I can afford to increase my price just to try to reduce the number of patients trying to get an appointment. Remember, you can only charge what the market is prepared to pay, and where as joe public would rarely attempt their own dentristry or chiropractic, they can all attempt to treat their own feet, and often will.

    In short it is illegal to price fix, but it is only sensible to first ensure you are covering your overheads plus some extra for a salary, how much more you can charge is market led. For those who want to charge less, they will be busy, but they can only manage a finite number of patients a day, and the rest of us will never be short of work, there are more than enough feet to go round. Charge what you can, you never know how long you can work without health complications,!

    Best regards and goodbye ;)
     
  37. omg 123

    omg 123 Member

    hi
    i am curious as how people charging fees arrive at the price.
    Its just we all pay the same for malpractice insurance and autoclaves or disposable instruments cost the same were ever you work.

    Is the £8 based on any pricing.

    I wonder how much we would want to pay if we needed our toe nails cut.
    I think if I was retired £35 would be out of reach.

    :D
     
  38. Mike Plank

    Mike Plank Active Member

    I quoted £35 as a Podiatry appointment fee in a Clinic. I know some Pods do have a nail cutting fee which is less (approx £20-25 for simple nail cutting with no pathological conditions). These are only what I can gather are the fees around Surrey.

    There is a risk of setting up a nail cutting fee system and filling appointment slots with low paying customers! This is o.k if you arrange your appointment times accordingly so your hourly rate is not affected.
     
  39. Elizabeth Humble-Thomas

    Elizabeth Humble-Thomas Active Member

    Hi, I'm in Oxford, which is an expensive and fairly wealthy area. As I said a while ago in this post, my fee is £45 per half hour, £30 for 15 mins nail cutting. This seems to be quite high, but I have been stuck at this price for five years, as my 'rival' podiatrists used to charge £60 (one hour), but he retired .. and Scholl at £38, taken over by Shuropody (that name is so wrong in so many ways) who charge about £32, and new practices run by younger, married women (with salaried husbands..) charging around £35.
    Colleagues in similar fields, physios, osteopaths etc seem to moving up to and beyond £50 per treatment.
    I can't help feeling grumpy, I'm hurtling towards retirement, and I feel I'm worth a decent income.
    I have always felt that as profession we underestimate our value. My son, a hairstylist charges around £50 for a cut, he's 25 years old. My plumber charges £60 for a callout. Don't even get me started on opticians and dentists.
     
Loading...

Share This Page