It might appear straightforward and undramatic – but a simple toe-nail cutting service pilot project in East Lancashire which began in November 2007 and has made a difference to hundreds of peoples lives has just secured a Futurebuilders grant to develop the same service to Greater Manchester Cheshire and Merseyside.

The service which is targeted at the over 55s, visits clients on a 5 week cycle to cut their toenails has also seen an unexpected spin off into the bargain and Executive Director Steven Tomlinson is delighted to have been awarded the grant he says “Clients in East Lancashire not only have regular attention and contact but they often show a marked improvement in confidence and a general improvement in their sense of wellbeing”.

Last year we were awarded a 3-year grant from the Department of Health section 64 funding to enhance the service and to research the North-West for suitable partners. We found 5 partners who were interested and approached futurebuilders for extra funding to make this a reality.

“The futurebuilders grant will allow us to offer this much needed service in 5 other areas of the North West, we are currently working with Central and Eastern Cheshire, Rochdale and St Helens PCTs with 2 other PCTs coming on board in the next 3 months, this is great news for the North West as it will improve the health of the over 55s in other regions and also create a number of new posts in each area”.

“The East Lancashire service now provides footcare to over 1200 clients and complements the existing service provided by the NHS Podiatry department it was developed along the lines of a social enterprise model and has now reached sustainability, it is the intention to use the same model in each of 5 new target areas”.