THE decision to cut some 10,000 chiropody patients from the podiatry service in Hampshire has come under fire from a local MP.

Earlier this week the Daily Echo, pictured below, revealed how a review of podiatry services across Portsmouth and south-east Hampshire led to 30 per cent of the 900 patients referred to the service each month being discharged.

In a bid to cut waiting times for those with a greater clinical need, all patients have been assessed and those deemed to have "straightforward" needs, such as nail-cutting and skin care, have been told they will no longer receive NHS treatment.

Peter Viggers, MP for Gosport, said he has been inundated with letters from patients who feel they have been treated unfairly, adding: "I've had a score of letters from bitter, deeply-worried elderly people or their relatives.

"The service has been over-stretched and what they've done, which is quite often the case with technical services, is restrict themselves to the cases they deem most serious. They've told all the people with less serious cases that they have been struck off the list. This is causing immense difficulty."

Mr Viggers said he has raised the matter in Parlia-ment and has also been in contact with Fare-ham and Gosport Primary Care Trust about the decision.

He added that plans were in place for a new team of workers to help with the straightforward needs.

He said: "They're putting in a diffferent level service through Help the Aged. What they want to do is put in another team of less highly-trained workers, who will be able to undertake matters such as nail cutting, and they will also be trained so that they can recognise when there's a problem.

"However, it should not have got to that stage. They've clearly managed this very badly. An enormous amount of stress has been caused to elderly people and their relatives."