WALK IN MY SHOES NHS PRESCRIBED FOOTWEAR CAMPAIGN

Hello. My name is Philip Taylor. I contracted polio aged 2 and now, aged 72, I suffer the effects of post polio sydrome which has severely limited my mobility. I have to wear special footwear every day to remain mobile.

Whilst in my teens,I learned to make orthopaedic footwear, now after 60 years I can call myself an expert, and considered one of the experienced and succesful shoemakers in the UK
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In the past 30 years of running my business, The Cordwainer, I have helped hundreds of disabled people by solving their footwear problems, but often the NHS say I am not allowed to help them.

This campaign is about finding the right pathway to enable skilled shoemakers help the NHS to 'get it right'.

Recently, my local hospital had a change in contracted supplier for footwear. Under the previous contract, that company was happy to use an outside contractor to make the footwear because it made sense and saved money. The new company have opted not to use the same company, and have wasted eight months and five fittings for the footwear still not to fit and function properly. 

I am lucky, because I can choose, I can just make myself a pair whenever I want to. But, my clients know that I want better for them too. That's why this campaign is needed.