Mr James Alvey

I am a Consultant Podiatric Surgeon and specialise in the non-surgical and surgical management of feet. My regular practice includes common forefoot conditions such as bunions, arthritic foot joints, hammer toes, neuromas and ingrown toe nails. I also prescribe foot orthoses and utilise therapeutic steroid and local anaesthetic injections. I see patients for podiatry and podiatric foot surgery, arthritis of the foot and ankle, bunion deformity (hallux valgus) treatment, cavus Foot, corticosteroid and hyaluronan injection therapy, flat foot, foot and ankle surgery, ganglions, heel pain/plantar fasciitis, ingrown toenails, hammer toe deformities, local anaesthesia, lower limb biomechanics and gait analysis, metatarsalgia, musculoskeletal pathology of the foot and ankle, neuromas.

I initially qualified in Podiatry in 1993 from the University of Brighton and went on to begin my surgical studies in 2001. My surgical training was gained at Lambeth Teaching NHS Primary Care Trust and also with the Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Consultants at Western Sussex NHS Hospital Trust. I gained my Surgical Fellowship in 2008.

My current NHS post is within Sussex Community NHS Trust and covers West Sussex and Brighton. I am the lead consultant for the Podiatric Surgery Department there.

I am a visiting senior lecturer to the University of Brighton Podiatry Division and I am an accredited clinical educator. My research interests include Patient Reported Outcome Measures. I completed my own MSc in 2009 on this subject and have published research on this and several other subjects.

My Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) number is CH11936.

Choosing a foot care specialist

Every doctor, nurse, physiotherapist or other health professional has specific skills and qualifications. They can only provide care that fits within those skills and rules set by their profession. For foot care specialists this means:

• Podiatrists - They diagnose and treat problems with your feet and lower limbs (they are not medical doctors). They can provide advice, prescribe certain medications and carry out non-surgical treatments
• Podiatric Consultants - These are highly experienced podiatrists (they are not medical doctors). They can manage complex foot and ankle conditions, using a range of non-surgical treatments
• Consultant Podiatric Surgeons - They are podiatrists who have completed additional training (they are not medical doctors). They can manage complex foot and ankle conditions using a range of non-surgical treatments and perform some surgical procedures