A WOMAN who works at Liskeard Community Hospital and is training to be a foot doctor has won a prestigious prize for her research. Joanne Paton, a local podiatrist working for the North and East Cornwall Primary Care Trust, won the Sir Graham Wilkins Post Graduate Research Prize for her work on insoles. Joanne holds musculoskeletal clinics at Liskeard Community Hospital and also teaches on the BSc Hons podiatry programme in the University of Plymouth's faculty of health and social work. Joanne said: 'My research focuses on comparing two types of insole used in the prevention of foot problems (ulcer and amputation) in the high risk diabetic foot. 'The piece of research investigated the physical properties of materials commonly used to make insoles. 'The aim was to provide myself and other healthcare professionals clinically relevant information to aid in material selection.' Joanne came joint first with another local health professional, Shalinee Singh, who is also a PhD student at the University of Plymouth. The results of Joanne's research will provide healthcare professionals with important information to help them make the correct insole selection in the treatment of foot problems. This will ensure that the insole chosen for a particular patient is the most appropriate type, ultimately improving the outcome for the patient. The Sir Graham Wilkins Postgraduate Research Prize is run by the Peninsula Postgraduate Health Institute, which is jointly run by the University of Plymouth and Exeter University.
