 He received a medical education in London, becoming a member of the Surgeons' Company, and about 1766 went to the West Indies, where he practised for three years in the island of Nevis, returning in 1769.After this he went to St. Petersburg, where he became a practitioner of the College of St. Petersburg, as he afterwards described himself.Returning to England, Foot was appointed house-surgeon to the Middlesex Hospital, and on the conclusion of his term of office began practice in London, in Salisbury Street, Strand, later moving to Dean Street, Soho.