Elite Foot and Ankle CLINICS

A Consultant Run Private Clinics.  Mr Antonius was Appointed as a Consultant Podiatrist in 2015 for the NHS Services in Great Yarmouth and Waveney  

We are a team of dedicated and experienced podiatrists providing expert treatment for thousands of individuals and families in Orpington and Gorleston-On-Sea and the surrounding areas.
With over 50 years experience between our team members both in the NHS and the Private sector, we have the expertise to address all of your foot or ankle concerns

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If you or someone you love is suffering from a disease, disorder or injury of the foot and ankle, our specialists are here to provide comprehensive services and procedures, so you can get back on your feet—comfortably.

Elite Foot and Ankle CLINICS perform thousands of  consultations, procedures and injections each year. We treat a range of conditions from arthritis of the foot and ankle to foot deformities and chronic pain. Because our overall goal is to improve your quality of life and function, we partner with physiotherapist, sport therapist and rehabilitation specialists to provide the most successful and comprehensive care.

At Elite Foot and Ankle Clinics

we have the expertise to address all of your foot or ankle concerns. We provide services to patients of all ages. 
In his Capacity as a Consultant Podiatrist and Musculoskeletal Clinical lead,  Mr Antonius had run clinics at Northgate and Beccles Hospitals and jointly run the Diabetic Multi-Disciplinary Foot Clinic at James Paget University Hospital along side a consultant endocrinologist, consultant vascular surgeon and a team of specialist podiatrist.
He is a specialist in sports medicine, minor surgery of the foot, podo-pediatrics (children’s feet), wound care, diabetic/general podiatric care. We offer bio-mechanical assessments and Gait Analysis .

We provide pre-fabricated and custom orthotics and braces.

Treatment Provided

General Podiatry

  • Corns Treatment
  • Callus
  • Verrucae
  • Ingrown Toenails Surgery
  • Deformed, Fungal Nails
  • Diabetic foot assessment
  • Wound Care
  • Excision of skin lesions
  • Verrucae Needling 
  • Diabetic ulcer treatment and prevention

Musculoskeletal Biomechanics

  • Gait analysis
  • Foot and Ankle Pain
  • Foot and Ankle arthritis
  • Joint injection
  • Heel Pain
  • Plantar Fasciitis
  • Policeman’s heels
  • Achilles heels
  • Shockwave Therapy
  • Bunions
  • Big toe joint pain
  • Dancers feet
  • Custom Orthotics/Insoles
  • Custom Ankle Braces and Ankle Foot Orthoses

Paediatrics

  • Children foot check
  • Flat feet
  • Growing pain
  • Muscle imbalance
  • In-Toeing
  • Toe Walking
  • Delayed Walking
  • Bowed legs
  • Knocked knees
  • Foot and ankle injuries
  • Children’s Bunions

Common Foot Conditions

Ankle Sprains

Ankle sprains are very common injuries with more than one million suffered each year in the UK. They occur when the ligaments in the ankle are severely stretched or torn. Medical attention will be necessary to rule out a fracture, as often it is difficult to tell the full extent of the injury.

Flat Feet

You have flatfeet when the arches on the inside of your feet are flattened, allowing the entire soles of your feet to touch the floor when you stand up. A common and usually painless condition, flatfeet can occur when the arches don't develop during childhood. In other cases, flatfeet develop after an injury or from the simple wear-and-tear stresses of age.

Flatfeet can sometimes contribute to problems in your ankles and knees because the condition can alter the alignment of your legs. Flatfeet are usually associated with lower limb muscle imbalance.

Treatment includes exercises to restore normal function, foot orthotics (shoe inserts) may be used.

Bunions

A bunion is a bony bump that forms on the joint at the base of your big toe. It occurs when some of the bones in the front part of your foot move out of place. This causes the tip of your big toe to get pulled toward the smaller toes and forces the joint at the base of your big toe to stick out. The skin over the bunion might be red and sore. This is a progressive condition caused by mid-foot instability and is made worse by inward pressure from tight shoes. Bunions can be very painful

Toe Deformities ( Hammer Toe, Mallet Toe, Claw Toe)

Toe deformities develop when one or more of the toes having a bend in the ball joint (MTPJ), middle or end joints or a combination; as in the diagram above. These occur due to an imbalance in the muscles, tendons or ligaments that normally hold the toe straight. The type of shoes you wear, foot structure, trauma and certain disease processes can contribute to the development of these deformities.A hammertoe has an abnormal bend in the middle joint of a toe. 
A mallet toe affects the joint nearest the toenail. 
A claw toe usually affect the ball joint (MTPJ), middle or end joints of the toe. 
Hammertoes, mallet toes and claw toes usually occur in your second, third and fourth toes.
A flexible deformities may be conservatively managed.


Metatarsalgia

Metatarsalgia is a condition in which the ball of your foot becomes painful and inflamed. You might develop it if you participate in activities that involve running and jumping. There are other causes as well, including foot deformities, mechanical instability that can alter forefoot loading and shoes that are too tight or too loose. Treatment will depend on the cause.

Morton's neuroma

Morton's neuroma is a painful condition that affects the ball of your foot, most commonly  the
area between your third and fourth toes.
Morton's neuroma may feel as if you are standing on a pebble in your shoe or on a fold in your sock.

Morton's neuroma involves a thickening of the tissue around one of the nerves leading to your toes. This can cause a sharp, burning pain in the ball of your foot. Your toes also may sting, burn or feel numb.

Diabetes and Your Feet

Diabetes is a systemic illness that can affect many different parts of the body. This is especially true for the feet. Proper foot screening is incredibly important for diabetic patients and any kind of cut or sore should be taken very seriously. A small cut may not heal and develop into an ulcer putting the limb at risk.

Osteomyelitis is an infection in a bone. Infections can reach a bone by traveling through the bloodstream or spreading from nearby tissue. Infections can also begin in the bone itself if an injury exposes the bone to germs.Smokers and people with chronic health conditions, such as diabetes or kidney failure, are more at risk of developing osteomyelitis. People who have diabetes may develop osteomyelitis in their feet if they have foot ulcers.Although once considered incurable, osteomyelitis can now be successfully treated. Most people need surgery to remove areas of the bone that have died. After surgery, strong intravenous antibiotics are typically needed.
Diabetic neuropathy is a type of nerve damage that can occur if you have diabetes. High blood sugar (glucose) can injure nerves throughout your body. Diabetic neuropathy most often damages nerves in your legs and feet.Depending on the affected nerves, diabetic neuropathy symptoms can range from pain and numbness in your legs and feet to problems with your digestive system, urinary tract, blood vessels and heart. Some people have mild symptoms. But for others, diabetic neuropathy can be quite painful and disabling.Diabetic neuropathy is a serious diabetes complication that may affect as many as 50% of people with diabetes. But you can often prevent diabetic neuropathy or slow its progress with consistent blood sugar management and a healthy lifestyle.

Plantar Fasciitis (Fasciopathy)


Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain. It involves inflammation of a thick band of tissue that runs across the bottom of your foot and connects your heel bone to your toes (plantar fascia).

Plantar fasciitis commonly causes stabbing pain that usually occurs with your first steps in the morning. As you get up and move, the pain normally decreases, but it might return after long periods of standing or when you stand up after sitting.

Ingrown Toenails


Ingrown toenails are a common condition in which the corner or side of
a toenail grows into the soft flesh.
The result is pain, redness, swelling and, sometimes, an infection. Ingrown toenails usually affect your big toe.

Often you can take care of ingrown toenails on your own. If the pain is severe or spreading, we can take steps to relieve your discomfort and help you avoid complications of ingrown toenails.

In most cases Conservative treatment is offered, however in some cases a minor procedure under local anesthetics is required to removed a small section of the nail followed by chemical oblation of the nail bed and martix to avoid recurrence . If you have diabetes or another condition that causes poor blood flow to your feet, you're at greater risk of complications of ingrown toenails.

Achilles tendinitis (or more accurately Tendinopathy)

The pain associated with Achilles tendinitis typically begins as a mild ache in the back of the leg or above the heel after running or other sports activity.

Episodes of more-severe pain may occur after prolonged running, stair climbing or sprinting. You might also experience tenderness or stiffness, especially in the morning, which usually improves with mild activity.

Verruca

Verrucae are plantar warts that commonly occur on the soles of the feet or around the toe area. They are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which is highly contagious through direct person to person contact. There are various forms of HPV which all relate to various parts of the human body.
The virus enters your body through tiny cuts, breaks or other weak spots on the bottom of your feet,
Treatment options includes cryotherapy (freezing), Dry needling, and surgical excision.

Cryotherapy 

What is cryotherapy?

The term ‘cryotherapy’ literally means ‘treatment using low temperature’ and refers to the removal of skin lesions by freezing them. The most common product used is liquid nitrogen.

What does the procedure involve?

liquid nitrogen or nitrogen oxide is usually applied to the skin by using a spray gun or a can and a cotton bud.

Although there is slight local pain felt, cryotherapy does not normally require a local anaesthetic, and the procedure itself lasts a matter of seconds; the precise time depends on the thickness and size of the lesion. The frozen skin becomes white and takes one to two minutes to thaw back to normal skin temperature. Your clinician may suggest that the process be repeated once the skin has thawed. After a few days, a scab will form, and this will take one to two weeks to fall off (occasionally a little longer, especially on the feet). Usually, the treated area will eventually look normal, although scarring and discolouration is possible, however not common particularly on the lower legs and feet.

Depending on the nature of the lesion, more than one treatment may be necessary, and this is usually repeated at regular intervals. For plantar warts (verrucae) the treatment is usually repeated every 2-3 weeks till the lesion has resolved.

Heel Spurs


A heel spur is a bony protrusion that occurs on the heel. It is often confused with plantar fasciitis, which is inflammation of the plantar fascia ligament. When a heel spur is painful it can make it quite difficult to walk.

Corns


Corns and calluses are hard layers of skin that usually form due to friction. Generally, they will be in areas of the foot that are bearing weight, or areas that frequently rub against the shoe. Soft corns are typically found between the toes.

Athlete's Foot


Athlete’s foot is a very common fungal infection that affects countless people around the world. It will manifest itself on the skin of the foot, in many cases in between the toes. Because fungi proliferate in warm, damp environments, keeping the feet clean and dry is of utmost importance in avoiding athlete’s foot.

Dry Needling

This is the treatment of choice where the Verrucae cover a large surfce area of the foot.Needling for verruca is a relatively simple procedure and has been used for over 40 years. First described in 1966 by Gordon Falknor, an American podiatrist, who in eight months treated 126 verrucae with only two recurrences. Verrucae remain in the outer layers of the skin, away from detection by the body’s immune system; this explains why verrucae can be so resilient.The needling procedure is carried out painlessly, under local anaesthetic which is used to numb the affected area. Once both the patient and the podiatrist are happy the area is sufficiently pain free a hypodermic needle is used to cause repeated trauma to the verruca. The aim of this is to implant the virally infected cells deeper in to the tissue where it is quickly detected by the immune system and an immune response is stimulated.

The needling procedure usually only requires a single application, but in some cases further treatment is necessary.

Post-operatively the lesion has the appearance of a dry blood blister and most patients experience little, if any, discomfort. 
A scab forms after the treatment which takes about 4 weeks to drop off.

No treatment is, however, 100% but the body of clinical evidence supporting the effectiveness of this treatment is growing all the time and more than one treatment may be
required.

Elite Foot and Ankle Clinic  Gorleston

Address

70 high street, Gorleston-on-Sea

Great Yarmouth

NR31 6RQ

United Kingdom

Email
Telephone

Elite Foot and Ankle Clinics  Orpington

Address

9 Station Road

Orpington

BR6 0RZ

United Kingdom

Email
Telephone

Elite Foot and Ankle Clinics PRIVACY NOTICE

The Elite Foot and Ankle Clinics undertake diagnostic and screening procedures, minor surgical procedures and the treatment of foot and lower limb disorders.

Our aim is to comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), 2018 and other legal acts that ensure we maintain full and accurate records of the care we provide for you and keep this information confidential and secure.

This privacy notice will set out information about the data we collect, how we protect your data, confidentiality and information security and your rights to erasure. It also tells you how you can obtain access to the information relating to your healthcare.

What information do we collect?

We collect information about you such as your name, address, General Practitioner (GP) and contact details, next of kin and emergency contact alongside any health related information required for the delivery of your care. This data will be collected when you register with us, or sent to us if you have been referred to us from a third party (e.g. General Practitioner, Insurance Company, other health care professionals). We also enter clinical notes which document your encounters with our clinicians and these are held on our secure Software Cliniko. Collecting this data will enable us to provide you with the appropriate care and treatment that you need.

This information collected may be recorded in writing (e.g. on an assessment form or letter), or electronically on a computer, or a mixture of both.

When you arrive for an appointment, our staff will check your details to ensure that our records are accurate. If the registration, medial history and consent form have not been completed electronically, you will be asked to complete and sign a hard copy which will be attached to your electronic record and you will also be given a paper copy. To assist with this, it is important that you notify us of any changes to your personal details (e.g. address, contact number) and arrive early for your appointment where possible so we can check this information prior to your appointment.

How do we use the information we collect to help you?

We will use the information we collect about you to ensure a high quality of health care in the following ways:

To inform General Practitioner’s, or healthcare professionals involved in your care that need accurate information about you to assess your health and deliver the health care you need.

To ensure accurate information is available if you need to be referred to another health professional or 3rd party.

To assess the type and quality of care you have received and may require in the future.

To support clinic and treatment appointments by sending you electronic and or paper based appointment reminders.

To ensure your concerns can be properly investigated if you are unhappy with the care you have received.

How else could your information be used?

The information we collect about you may also be used to help us:

• ensure the health of the general public
• review the care we provide to ensure it is of the highest standard
• collect clinical audit information
• arrange payment for the person who treats you
• investigate incidents, complaints or legal claims
• conduct health research and development
• to ensure that our service can meet patient needs in the future
• teach and train healthcare professionals

If we need to use your information for training purposes, we will ask you for written consent prior to using your information. In these cases, your information will be anonymised.

Do we share information about you with anyone?

There are times when it is appropriate for us to share information about you and your healthcare with others. We may share your information with the following main partners:

• General Practitioner’s or other health care professionals involved in your care
• Health Authorities
• The National Health Service
• The Department of Health

If you are receiving care from other people (such as Social Services), then we may also need to share relevant information about you to help us work together for your benefit.

We will not disclose your information to third parties without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances such as the health and safety of another person is at risk or where the law requires information to be passed on. Occasions when we must pass on information include:

• reporting some infectious diseases
• to help prevent serious crime
• when ordered by the court
• when you have expressly agreed for us to pass on information

In all cases where we must pass on information, we will only share the minimum amount of information required and where possible data will be anonymised (i.e. does not identify you personally). Anyone who receives information from us also has a legal duty to keep it confidential.

We will always try and obtain your consent wherever possible and inform you if your information is to be shared.

We will only give information to your relatives, friends and carers if you consent to this and we have obtained your consent.

How we keep your information secure and confidential?

We protect your information in the following ways:

Training - Staff are trained to understand their duty of confidentiality and information governance and their responsibilities regarding the security of patient information both on our premises and when out in the community.

Access controls - Any member of staff being given access to patient information on our patient records system, Cliniko, can only do so with a username and password. All of our PC screens have privacy controls and will be locked when staff is away from their desks.

Investigation - If you believe your information is being viewed inappropriately, please notify us immediately, we will investigate and report our findings to you. If we find that someone has deliberately accessed records about you without permission or good reason, we will tell you and take action. This can include disciplinary action, termination of employment, or bringing criminal charges where appropriate.

Records Management - All of your healthcare records are stored confidentially in secure locations. The privacy policy of our practice management software supplier can be found at:  

Legislation - There are laws in place to protect your information, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), 2018 and the Human Rights Act 1998.

How long do we keep your data?

The GDPR requires that we can retain your personal data for no longer than is necessary for the purpose it was obtained for. The Act does not set out any specific minimum or maximum periods for retaining personal data. Instead, it says that:

Personal data processed for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.

Consider the purpose or purposes we hold the information for in deciding whether (and for how long) to retain it;

• Securely delete information that is no longer needed for this purpose or these purposes; and
• Update, archive or securely delete information if it goes out of date.

In some cases where we collect gait analysis data and surgical records, we do retain this information as it may be necessary in future to use the data for comparative reasons to assess any changes that can occur over time.

Can my data be erased?

The GDPR introduces a right for individuals to have personal data erased. This is known as the right to erasure. However, the right is not absolute and only applies in certain circumstances. Should you wish to any of you have your data erased from our system, then you can do so by making a request for erasure verbally or in writing and it is our obligation to respond to you within one month of the request.

Can you obtain the information we collect about you?

Under the GDPR, 2018 individuals have the right to access their personal data and supplementary information.

You have the right to apply for access to the information we hold about you, whether it is stored electronically or on paper. We have a duty to provide this information in a format that is accessible to you (e.g. large print or Braille) and in a way that you can understand, explaining any abbreviations where necessary.

We are obliged to provide you a copy of the information free of charge. However, we also have the right to charge ‘reasonable fee’ when a request is excessive, particularly if it is repetitive. The new statutory limit for subject access requests and providing a response is within one month of receipt of your formal request.

We also have the right to charge a reasonable fee to comply with requests for further copies of the same information. The fee will be based on the administrative cost of providing the information.

If you would like to submit a subject access request for information, please contact our administration team.

Data Protection Officer

Our nominated Data Protection Officer (DPO) is Mr M Antonius, should you wish to activate you right to erasure or request copies of the information we hold about you, please send an email to info@elitefootandankle.co.uk with your request and our DPO will contact you for further details.

Review of our policy

To ensure we are following the appropriate guidelines and making sure that your data is adequately protected, we will review this policy and update it when required.

Should you have any questions about this privacy notice, please contact us on 07888242464 or email us on info@elitefootandankle.co.uk