Footcare brand Scholl has announced that it is joining forces with The College of Podiatry (COP) to raise awareness of foot health.

The partnership comes shortly after research was published that 35% of UK pharmacists don’t feel entirely comfortable diagnosing foot conditions.

Further, despite 62% of UK pharmacists seeing foot conditions in practice at least once a month, only 7% would describe themselves as very confident diagnosing dermatological foot conditions.

Scholl and COP decided that UK consumers are in need of more local guidance when it comes to caring for their feet, with GPs already over-stretched and local pharmacists reportedly under-confident.

Education will form a key component of the groups' partnership; ensuring that the public have the information they need to make decisions about their foot health and care, through the pharmacists and healthcare professionals they seek advice from.

Steve Jamieson, chief executive of the College of Podiatry, commented: “This ground-breaking partnership will focus on raising awareness of foot health among the general public as well as pharmacists and health professionals.

"It is absolutely vital that people have the information they need to make sound decisions about their foot health and care - and know where to go to when problems occur. That’s why this partnership will raise awareness of the role of podiatrists as the first port of call for safe, specialist foot health care.”