A worried constituent has written to me on behalf of chiropodists.
The fundamental reason, of course, is that the chiropodist does not need to work under medical supervision.
I now make the further claim that the majority of these old people cannot afford the fees of a chiropodist.
Only one chiropodist's vacancy in three has been approved.
Those include staff whose work is supervised by chiropodists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, radiographers and speech and language therapists.
Secondly, a large percentage of chiropodists are in private practice.
There are at present 5,617 chiropodists on the state register; this includes part-timers and an unknown number of non-practising chiropodists.
It is true that many local authorities have developed amenities such as concessionary fares, meals on wheels, chiropodist services and low-rent bungalows for old people.
