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I am happy to report that there are not many missed attendances
because it is, of course, such missed attendances which are the ruination
from an economic standpoint of any appointments scheme. My impression
is that we are only beginning to deal with this question of chiropody,
and that we require far more chiropodists than we have at the present time.
This is true so far as the people who attended the Clinics are concerned,
and if, in addition to providing a Clinic service, we do happily find we are
authorised to undertake domiciliary treatments then we shall require
still more chiropodists. I know of little work which can be said to be more
productive than chiropody. The housewife who is on her feet all day is,
to put it quite frankly, more effective if her feet are properly looked after
and the same is true of men and other women who are standing on their feet
throughout the day. Not less productive, although the economists may
think it so, is the care and attention which is given to the old people,
enabling them to continue an active life; in other words, by treating
their ingrowing toe nails and other disabilities they find themselves able to
get out and about and take necessary exercise, and, what is equally
important, to take an interest in what is going on around them.
Footwear
In past reports I have made pungent remarks upon the large number
of people who buy, and the footwear people who sell, shoes which are
injurious to the feet. I give below a note I made after window shopping,
which snows I have still not altered my views:—
"The other evening I chanced to look into a shop window in
Barking.
"In this window there were a lot of ladies' shoes and almost
all of them were of the ultra high-heeled type.
"The shopkeeper was advertising the fact that some of these
shoes had been reduced from an amount of money somewhere in the
neighbourhood of 45s. to the sale price of 10s.
"On the one hand I was delighted to see these ridiculous
shoes on sale at such startling reductions, because this meant the
shopkeeper had been unable to sell them for the higher prices.
On the other hand I was still hurt to think that such shoes could
even be given away and more hurt when I came to the conclusion
that the shopkeeper knew that some people were still willing to
pay 10s. to mutilate their feet."
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