Cardiff and Vale UHB Podiatry Service wins international recognition for Diabetic foot care
23 May 2025
The Journal of Wound Care Awards 2025 recently awarded Cardiff and Vale University Health Board’s Podiatry service with the Best Diabetic Foot Intervention Award. The team triumphed over strong international competition, with runners up from Italy and Singapore.
The award celebrates the success of the Diabetic Foot Emergency Early Triage (DFEET) clinic, launched in 2023. The initiative was previously recognised as a finalist in the 2024 Diabetes Quality in Care Awards and Health Service Journal Awards.
Vanessa Goulding, Acting Head of Podiatry and National Strategic Lead for Diabetes Foot Care said: “By removing barriers, patients self-refer and access the service at their point of need. Patients can see a healthcare professional who can manage their condition without attending their GP Practice or the Emergency Unit. It ensures they receive the right care at the right time by the right person - first time."
NICE guidelines recommend that patients living with Diabetes who develop a foot wound, foot infection or a Charcot Foot deformity, should be seen by a medical professional within 48 hours. To address this the Podiatry service piloted a walk-in clinic. Starting small in 2018, initially open to people in one GP cluster, it expanded across Cardiff and the Vale.
Vanessa said: “We were the only service running a walk-in clinic during COVID-19. We could see the benefit of seeing people earlier - their outcomes are better. We didn't, at that point, want to stop doing that.”
By 2023 this model was becoming unsustainable, so the team devised the DFEET clinic. This is a clinic which uses virtual triage first. Morgan Jones, Highly Specialist Podiatrist and Project Lead explains: “The patient contacts us and we triage them on the same day. Depending on the level of emergency, we'll see them the same day or the following day.”
The DFEET clinic operates out of Cardiff Royal Infirmary and University Hospital Llandough.
Vanessa said: “Our walk-in clinic was only based in one place. But this model allows us to prioritise and utilise our capacity better across our service.”
“We are seeing patients having better outcomes; their wounds are healing quicker. We are in the top ten of healing rates across England and Wales, and we are the top in Wales. Not only are we getting better patient outcomes, but patient experience has been positive. We've been able to prevent patients going to their GP or going into EU because they're coming straight to us. There's significant cost savings for the health board.”
Traditionally diabetic foot care has been consultant led, but 80% of patients experiencing these symptoms can be treated by Podiatrists.
Morgan said: “If patients phone us first, it's stopping unnecessary GP interaction. It's also positive for us as podiatrists. We can provide everything, all assessments, diagnostics and in a ‘one-stop shop’ clinic. We're working right at the top of our field – as independent prescribers treating patients with complex conditions.”
The team are now turning their attention to addressing health inequalities seeking to remove barriers that prevent people attending the clinic. As a former Bevan exemplar project, they are also exploring spread and scale of this model across Wales with Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB already adopting the model.
Photo: Highly Specialist Podiatrist Morgan Jones and Acting Head of Podiatry Vanessa Goulding holding the awards with members of the ‘At Risk’ Foot Provision Podiatry Service.