Podiatrist or chiropodist: what the titles mean.

Is a podiatrist more qualified than a chiropodist?

No. In the UK they are the same profession, the same qualification and the same regulator. “Podiatrist” is the modern term and “chiropodist” the older one; the Health and Care Professions Council registers them as a single profession under both titles.

The change in wording happened to bring the UK into line with international usage, where podiatry is the standard term. It did not create a new or higher qualification, and nobody had to re-train. A podiatrist who qualified thirty years ago as a chiropodist is the same clinician doing the same job.

Both words are used on this site for the simple reason that patients use both. If you searched for a chiropodist in Hall Green and a podiatrist in Hall Green, you were looking for the same thing.

What actually tells you about someone’s qualification is their registration, not their choice of word. Mark O’Sullivan holds BSc (Hons) Podiatric Medicine and is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council as CH16641. That entry is public and you can check it directly (opens in new tab). There is more on background and training on the about page.

Are “podiatrist” and “chiropodist” protected titles?

Yes. Both are protected in UK law under the Health Professions Order 2001. Only someone on the Health and Care Professions Council register may use them, and using a protected title without that registration is a criminal offence.

A protected title means the word itself is restricted. It is not a claim a practitioner makes about themselves; it is a statement that they appear on a statutory register maintained by the Health and Care Professions Council, and it can be verified by anyone.

Registration carries obligations behind it: an approved qualification, published standards of proficiency and conduct, continuing professional development, an indemnity arrangement, and a fitness-to-practise process that a member of the public can complain to directly.

What title protection does not do is prevent someone offering foot care under a different name, which is why the question two answers down is worth asking.

How do I check a podiatrist is registered?

Search the HCPC’s online register at hcpc-uk.org. It is free, public and takes under a minute. Registered chiropodists and podiatrists have a registration number beginning with the letters CH.

Worth doing once, for any clinician you see for the first time. The steps:

• Go to the HCPC website and open “Check the Register”.
• Search by name, or by registration number if you have it.
• Check that the entry shows the profession as chiropodist / podiatrist and the status as registered.
• Note the renewal date shown: registration is renewed on a two-year cycle.

For this practice: the registration number is CH16641, and the entry is on the HCPC register (opens in new tab). The Royal College of Podiatry (opens in new tab), the profession’s membership body, also runs a public “find a podiatrist” directory.

What is the difference between a podiatrist and a foot health practitioner?

Regulation. “Foot health practitioner” is not a protected title and is not regulated by the HCPC, so there is no statutory register behind it, no mandatory standards of proficiency and no statutory fitness-to-practise process. “Podiatrist” and “chiropodist” carry all three.

This is not a comment on any individual’s skill or care, and it isn’t meant as one. Plenty of people working under unregulated titles are conscientious and experienced. The point is narrower and worth understanding: what independent check exists behind the title, and what happens if something goes wrong.

What HCPC registration guarantees, specifically:

• An approved qualification. A degree from a programme the regulator has approved, including assessed clinical practice.
• Published standards. Standards of proficiency and standards of conduct, performance and ethics that the registrant must meet to stay on the register.
• Mandatory CPD. Audited from a random sample of registrants at each renewal.
• An indemnity arrangement. A legal condition of registration.
• A route for complaints. Concerns can be raised with a statutory regulator with the power to remove someone from the register.

It matters most when the margin for error is smallest. If you have diabetes, peripheral arterial disease or reduced sensation in your feet, Diabetes UK (opens in new tab) advises having your feet checked by a podiatrist and getting any new problem seen quickly. In that situation, the registration is the point.

What does a podiatrist treat?

The foot and lower limb: nails and skin, ingrowing toenails, corns and callus, heel and arch pain, gait and biomechanical problems, sports injuries, and the foot complications of conditions such as diabetes and arthritis.

Podiatry is broader than most people expect from the phrase "foot care". The treatments offered here:

• Nail care: routine cutting, thickened nails, and assessment of nails that look fungal or discoloured.
• Corns and callus: removal of hard skin and corns, plus working out and addressing the pressure causing them.
• Ingrowing toenails: conservative management, or permanent correction by nail surgery under local anaesthetic.
• Foot and heel pain: assessment and management of heel pain such as plantar fasciitis.
• Sports injuries: gait analysis, biomechanical assessment and insole guidance for lower-limb injuries.
• Acupuncture: Western medical acupuncture used alongside treatment for musculoskeletal foot and lower-limb pain.

Podiatrists also refer on. If what is in front of me needs a GP, a vascular opinion or another specialty, I will say so and tell you what to ask for. The full list is on the treatments page.