A Dundee woman has taken it upon herself to provide a free podiatry service to homeless and vulnerable people in the city.
Elaine Woods kick started the Dundee branch of “Forgotten Feet” on Wednesday. The project aims to help people who are unable to care for themselves receive much needed foot care.
Mrs Woods, who is from Dundee, has witnessed first-hand the desperate situations people find themselves in on a daily basis, and takes great pleasure in alleviating some of the pressures they face.
“I just have a passion to help people and being a nurse, I am keen to provide support for those who cannot support themselves”, she said.
Mrs Woods worked as an NHS nurse for years and was underwhelmed by the lack of support for vulnerable and homeless people in the city, with some waiting longer than nineteen weeks to be seen. This prompted her to take on the responsibility herself.
She said: “When I hear about people failing to be seen by the NHS it makes me really sad. They were so disappointing that I took it on myself to set something up.
“In Dundee there is a lot of deprivation and I like to help in any way I can.”
Mrs Woods has seen many feet in her time but rarely have they been as unhealthy as she has experienced through the Forgotten Feet project.
She said: “I see every kind of problem you could think of; fungal infections, corns, athlete’s foot and ingrown toenails to name but a few.”
Mrs Woods, who now runs her own foot care business, Heal ‘n Toes, is providing the service free of charge. However she remains modest about the philanthropic work and said: “I’m not here to be rich – I’m here to offer a service.”
Forgotten Feet is the first service of its kind in Dundee and operates from Coldside Church on Main Street in the Hilltown with a view to move to the Dundee Survival Group on Foundry Lane.
It runs every Wednesday from 11.30am to 1.30pm and Mrs Woods hopes other Podiatrists and foot health practitioners will come on board to assist.
She is currently working on a new project called Put a Sock In It, which aims to give away free pairs of socks to those who attend the foot care services and hopes to one day provide free trainers as well.
