Physio receives award for poster on support for club foot

^{Physiotherapist Rhiannon Rogers with other clinic team members including Dr Aureola Tong and podiatrist Owen Pearce and Cwm Taf University Health Board chairman Professor Marcus Longley (left)}

The poster, displayed at the event on 15 June, describes the importance of antenatal consultations following a diagnosis of congenital talipes equino varus (CTEV), or club foot deformity.

The consultations are now been offered to expectant mothers at the clinic for CTEV at Prince Charles Hospital, Merthyr Tydfil, where Ms Rogers works.

Although the clinic opened in 2008, it did not include antenatal consultations until this year.

CTEV can be diagnosed by a scan 20 weeks into a pregnancy, Ms Rogers explained, and if a mother learns that her baby has the condition she is directed to a local charity. But until recently, these mothers may not have learnt about the clinic at Prince Charles Hospital.

‘At the start of 2018, we used patient questionnaires to get feedback from the families to see what their experiences were of antenatal diagnosis,’ she said. ‘As expected, people reported that they had little information and support.’

Ms Rogers said the clinic now ensures parents are aware of the support available for CTEV. They get reassurance that there is good treatment and that the initial treatment time is short.

‘We looked into what we could do in the service,’ she said. ‘We created a leaflet explaining to parents where the clinic is and how to contact us.

‘Once they have a diagnosis, we see the parents in the next available clinic slot and they can ring us for support too.’

As well as describing the service, the poster also talks about the Facebook group for parents to contact each other and a ‘CTEV passport’ documenting the progress of the baby.

‘My presentation elaborated on the poster and focused on the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to supporting theses mothers and babies.’