Custom made footwear on NHS?

zaksmum

elsien wrote: »

A chap at work gets specially made shoes from orthotics as he needs a built up shoe and it's not possible to adapt shop bought shoes (which they tried to get away with in the first place.)
As others have said, you need a GP referral. The other downsides are you are entitled to 2 pairs a year (in our area), a pair and a spare, new ones take a couple of months to come through, and if you have to take them in for repair (eg resoled) that can take a few weeks till you get them back again. It's not a quick process by any means.
I've only seen the mens shoes, there's a choice of shoes, sandals or trainers in different colours and they can accommodate velcro instead of laces, that sort of thing. Having said that, they're functional rather than trendy, which I guess is the point.

I would've expected them to be functional rather than trendy, but you should see the ones my auntie got! They are really nice shoes which she was able to choose from a catalogue showing about 40 different styles. You'd be more than happy to buy them in a shop.

My auntie has been managing with just the one pair of shoes she's had for years - had them soled and heeled as the need arose, but they'd gone really beat up and she hated having to wear them.

She was delighted with her custom made ones.