Nicola Ruddick
“I’ve always been fascinated by feet, I love them! I really enjoying helping my patients with routine foot issues it really can change peoples lives!”
Nicola Ruddick - Foot Health Practitioner
Nicola worked as a Senior Product Manager for Emirates Tours before she followed her dreams with a career change to become a Foot Health Practitioner. In 2014 she qualified as a Foot Health Practitioner from the SMAE institute in Maidenhead.
She set up a successful business in Bromley, Kent working with Age UK in a busy clinic treating 15 patients a day and a mobile footcare business with over 100 patients. Her youngest patient was 5 years old suffering with multiple verruca’s and oldest was 102 years old needing regular foot maintenance including toe nail cutting, corn and callus removal.
In 2019 she relocated to Oxfordshire with her family and started working at the Summertown Clinic on Fridays and also operates a mobile footcare business to customers in Oxfordshire, who are unable to travel to Summertown.
Nicola enjoys the wide variety of people she meets on a daily basis and the range of foot issues seen. She enjoys ensuring patients feet are well cared for – after all you do only get one pair of feet!
Practitioner Summary
- Diploma in Foot Health from the SMAE Institute, becoming a Member of the Open College of Foot Health Professionals (MCFHP) and a Member of the British Association of Foot Health Professionals (MAFHP).
- Trained in Medical Emergency Procedures
- CPD course in Fungal Nail Infections
- Worked at Age UK in a footcare clinic in Bromley, Kent
- Mobile footcare in Bromley, treating patients in their own homes
- Footcare at Summertown Clinic
- As well as practicing from Summertown Clinic Nicola, also does mobile footcare in Oxfordshire, treating patients in their own homes find out more…
Nicola gets great satisfaction from improving the condition of people’s feet.
She frequently sees patients in pain from not being able to look after their feet themselves.
From the first appointment, the patient can see and feel the improvement a treatment can provide, often saying they feel like dancing again as they leave the clinic!
Nicola also enjoys the wide variety of conditions she sees on a daily basis, ranging from successfully getting rid of 28 veruccas a patient had suffered with for 15 years, to the acute pain caused by an ingrowing toenail.
At the start of the treatment Nicola will discuss with the patient their footcare needs.
After having reviewed the patients medical history, Nicola will then have a visual inspection of their feet, before agreeing the best course of treatment.
Working on one foot at a time, a typical treatment starts with cutting and filing the toenails, using an electric bur if necessary to assist with reducing thickened nails. Other nail conditions will be treated, before moving onto foot conditions such as corns, callus, and veruccas.
The treatment ends with applying and massaging your feet with foot cream.
For more complex needs Nicola is happy to refer her patients to a Podiatrist (see Sue Beynon)
What is the difference between a Podiatrist and a Foot Health Practitioner?
Podiatrists can diagnose conditions and prescribe medication. They are also trained to deliver specialist treatment when it is needed.
Foot Health Practitioners work on a wide range of less specialist and invasive procedures, as well as observe general foot health. They will refer you to a podiatrist where necessary.
How often do you recommend that I see you?
To maintain good foot health, follow up appointments are recommended every 6 to 8 weeks (more frequently if you are having your verrucas treated).
How long will it take for my veruccas to go?
This is a really difficult question to answer as it depends on a number of factors, including your bodies immunity and how it reacts to having veruccas , your age (veruccas tend to go more quickly in younger people), and whether you do as Nicola suggests between appointments to help with the verucca removal.
For example, one patient Nicola treated had had 28 veruccas for 15 years. After having treated his feet every couple of weeks for about 6 months, the veruccas had gone. Another patient was a 6 year old girl with 3 veruccas. Nicola was able to get rid of these after only 3 or 4 treatments.
Are you able to cut fingernails as well?
Yes. Although Nicola’s specialism is footcare, she is also insured to cut patients fingernails as well if required.
How long does an appointment take?
The initial appointment will last approximately 45 minutes, and follow up appointments will take about 30 minutes. The initial appointment is more in-depth and therefore longer as it includes a medical history check prior to your footcare.
How do you ensure that your footcare instruments are clean?
Every set of instruments are hand rinsed after use and sterilised in an autoclave. The autoclave is serviced annually to ensure that it is functioning correctly.
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Louisa Mays
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Louisa completed her training at Northampton University and qualified as a podiatrist in 2004. She enjoys reducing or alleviating people’s foot pain and discomfort, enabling them to keep active on their feet and thus improving their quality of life.