Podiatry students step into Christmas with free foot clinic to help homeless

Vita Norcliffe Murray (pictured below) and Paula Donlan initially came up with the idea to share their experience and knowledge as well as see how their skills could be put into practice outside of a typical clinical setting. With both students sharing a passion for providing accessible healthcare for everyone, they decided to approach the Wellspring and see what they could do to help.

Vita said, "I’ve always been really passionate about helping homeless people – when I was really young, about 10 or 11, I used to go into Manchester with my mum and take tins of soup and make sandwiches for all the homeless people we would see.

“Reinforcing the importance of accessible, inclusive healthcare and the role we can all play in reducing inequalities across our community is very important to me.”

While the clinic has allowed the students to put their podiatry skills into practice, Vita also shared how volunteering has helped her develop in other aspects of both her podiatry training, and her approach to life and hard situations.

“It’s really helped me with communication – when I first started working in the clinic, I was really nervous and didn’t make much conversation, and it was the same when working on placements.

“I have learnt a lot about human interaction – it is so easy to judge people who are homeless or in difficult life situations, but when you actually sit down with someone and listen to their stories, you realise we are all human at the end of the day.

“It has made me appreciate life and what I have more and made me a much more patient and calmer person.”

The students initially ran the clinic using their own money but are now supported by donations from DLT Podiatry Supplies, and Dermatonics Ltd, who kindly offered insoles and foot creams after getting in contact with both the Podiatry department at the university, and Paula herself.

Dr Veronica Newton, Lecturer in Podiatry at the University of Salford, said of the initiative, “We are very proud of Vita and Paula for giving their time and skill to volunteer to help people.

“The very essence of being a healthcare professional is providing care and compassion to those people who need it most – and they are doing that in spades!

“It’s amazing to see how Vita, Paula and their peer group on the Podiatry programme at the University of Salford are so proactive and positive in sharing their experiences – I hope it will inspire and encourage other people to study podiatry!”