Orthotic Service

The Orthotic clinic is held in Corridor A of outpatients on the ground floor of Kingston Hospital. Current COVID restrictions mean that the hospital operates a one-way system, entrance is via the Main Outpatients entrance and exit is via the Main Entrance of the hospital. On arrival to the hospital please check-in with the administration team at the main outpatient’s reception desk and take a seat. When the orthotist is ready to see you, he or she will call you from the waiting area and you will be taken in for your appointment from there.

The Orthotic Clinical Service provides a comprehensive outpatient Orthotic service, supplying devices (Orthotics) to aid movement, correct deformity and relieve discomfort as a result of an injury or long-term condition. Examples of these include insoles, ankle foot orthosis, knee brace, calipers or footwear to help improve mobility, reduce pain and support the affected area to allow for symptom management.  The team specialises in complex rehabilitation problems for patients with musculoskeletal, degenerative and/or neuromuscular problems; many of which utilise our large range of multidisciplinary teams.

We run clinics on a Tuesday and Wednesday within the Orthopaedics Corridor of outpatients in Kingston Hospital.  We appreciate that a lot of our patients work full time therefore we have tried to accommodate as many patients as possible by running long clinic days therefore if you would like an appointment before 9am or after 4pm please request this at the time of referral and our administration team will take this into consideration when appointments are being allocated.

Opening Hours

The orthotic department is open for collection of products between 9am-1 pm and 2pm-4pm Monday- Thursday.  When attending to collect an orthotic device or dropping a device in for repair/ maintenance please call the administration team beforehand on 0208 9342164 so your product can be looked out, this will save any delays or inconvenience on arrival at the hospital.  Please report to the main outpatients reception desk and they will make contact with the Orthotic department administration team to facilitate the orthotic device collection.

Treatments provided

• CAD CAM custom-made insoles, stock insoles also provided where clinically appropriate
• Orthopaedic footwear, stock, modular and made to measure dependant on clinical appropriateness
• Ankle foot Orthoses (AFOs) both stock and made to measure
• Knee bracing stock and made to measure in unique cases
• Knee ankle foot Orthoses (KAFOs)
• Stance control KAFOs
• Custom spinal Orthoses
• Post-operative bracing

If you would like further information and advice, please visit this page.

Our contact telephone number is 0208 9342164, if you can not get through to our administration team please leave your name, contact number and a brief reason for your call and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Alternatively, you can contact us via email on: khft.orthotics@nhs.net.

GP’s can refer directly into the orthotic department using the Choose and Book system.

Your consultant may feel you would benefit from orthotic intervention alongside the treatment they are providing for you. A referral can be made to the orthotic department by any other specialty within the hospital including the Diabetic Foot Clinic, Orthopaedic Outpatient Department, Rheumatology and Neurology Department.

Referrals must state the following information:

• the patient’s name, date of birth and contact details
• the patient’s GP, including contact details
• the Orthotic device being referred for
• a diagnosed condition and current clinical presentations/signs

Examples of the type of type of thing you might be referred for are shown below:

• Diabetic footwear and insoles to help offload an ulcer, aid with wound healing and protection of the footwear further injury long term.
• Insoles to offload painful prominences across the feet to be used for symptom management alongside medications.
• Orthotic intervention by the orthopaedic team both pre and post surgery to offer support, foot stabilization and pain management either before or after surgical intervention  to ensure a patient’s symptoms are managed as well as possible to aid with mobilising and a return to normal activities of daily life.
• Lower limb Orthotic interventions to aid with walking difficulties secondary to Drop foot. This can be treated in several different ways and the orthotist will assess each patient on an individual basis and provide the most appropriate product for that moment in time.  If a patient’s condition deteriorates and they feel they need reassessment they can contact the orthotic department directly within 6 months of their last appointment.