This year, 14 people in Easington will have a toe, foot or leg amputated.

10 of these people will die within five years.

11 of these 14 amputations will be unnecessary and could have been prevented if a podiatrist was involved in their care.

I received these shocking statistics from the Royal College of Podiatry, which prompted the following question to the Government

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care what assessment she has made (a) podiatry vacancy rates in the NHS in Easington and (b) the impact these vacancies will have on patient treatment for diabetic foot complications.

By 2025, 1.5 million people in the U.K. will need to see a podiatrist regularly if they are to avoid foot ulcers or lower limb amputation. Without this treatment, 70% of those who have a limb amputated will die within 5 years. To tackle this, there are currently less than 10,000 registered podiatrists in England and this number is dropping every year.

We need the Government to step up to ensure the sufficient provision of podiatry care in order to save limbs and save lives.