Skin Checks

enola79

Hi, there's a slight blemish on my face that hasn't really gone away over the past five weeks. Its not quite like a usual spot. I do want to get it checked out, but would rather get straight to a skin specialist. I know the GP is just going to refer me, after taking €55. Are there any HSE 'skin clinics' where you can go get things like this checked out, like there are for breast checks?

Thanks

Arbie

enola79 wrote: »

Hi, there's a slight blemish on my face that hasn't really gone away over the past five weeks. Its not quite like a usual spot. I do want to get it checked out, but would rather get straight to a skin specialist. I know the GP is just going to refer me, after taking €55. Are there any HSE 'skin clinics' where you can go get things like this checked out, like there are for breast checks?

Thanks

GPs are qualified doctors with many years of experience before they start to work on their own. The GP isn't just sitting there "taking €55" and printing referral letters. They are highly trained to know what conditions can be treated in a GP clinic, what needs to go to a specialist non-urgently, and what needs to go to hospital urgently. They each see hundreds of patients a week and the vast majority are treated appropriately in the GP clinic.

You cannot access a dermatologist directly, you will need to see a GP first. Once you have the GP letter you can go public or private. Almost every patient feels that what they're experiencing is "not quite usual" and we would all like to see a specialist tomorrow. Without GPs assessing patients before referral, specialist waiting lists would be 10+ years.

enola79

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Obviously a GP is there to triage patients. The reason I posted this question was because my mother in law recently insisted on being referred to a specialist after a GP told her a mole was fine. As it happens she had a skin cancer that needed to be removed immediately and investigated further. GPs can miss things and when it comes to cancer, really a person is seeking peace of mind. As it happens there is a Skin check clinic in Bayside and Rathmines, which for a fee can do a full body check on moles and blemishes without a referral letter. Though not a hospital specialist, a visit here might be more reassuring as it is conducted by a GP who specialises in skin cancers.

Arbie

enola79 wrote: »

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Obviously a GP is there to triage patients. The reason I posted this question was because my mother in law recently insisted on being referred to a specialist after a GP told her a mole was fine. As it happens she had a skin cancer that needed to be removed immediately and investigated further. GPs can miss things and when it comes to cancer, really a person is seeking peace of mind. As it happens there is a Skin check clinic in Bayside and Rathmines, which for a fee can do a full body check on moles and blemishes without a referral letter. Though not a hospital specialist, a visit here might be more reassuring as it is conducted by a GP who specialises in skin cancers.

Triage isn't obvious to everyone, as demonstrated by the many posts on this website and other forums where people complain about other people being seen before them in A&E or a neighbour down the road getting a clinic appointment earlier than they did. Your post asked about bypassing GPs and referred to GPs "taking €55" which seemed to suggest they are just a middleman taking a cut in the referral process.

As a junior doctor I worked on a team that treated skin cancer. Any doctor in any specialty can miss things, including hospital consultants. Your mother-in-law's incident would worry anyone and it shows why people are right to get another opinion if they are concerned. But her case is an exception. The vast majority of GPs do an excellent job and we rarely got delayed referrals, in fact we found GPs went out of their way fighting to get patients seen ASAP.

There are GPs who have a special interest in dermatology/skin cancer, but they are not dermatologists. See this letter from a GP dermatology group: http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/dermatology-and-general-practice-1.2244754

Many GPs do have a huge amount of experience in skin, including doing biopsies and minor procedures, and many have degrees in dermatology. But unlike some other countries, in Ireland there are no legal criteria for GPs to say that they can do skin checks, there is no specialist register, there is no way of proving that they are more competent than any other GP. So if you go to see a GP with a special interest in skin then you have to evaluate their credentials and make up your own mind. They may be no better than another GP down the road. But the point is that all GPs are qualified to triage dermatology, so bypassing them is not the way to go.

enola79

Thanks for the added insight. I will certainly bare your comments in mind.

Stheno

enola79 wrote: »

Thanks for the added insight. I will certainly bare your comments in mind.

My OH has a recurrent growth on his cheek just under his eye.

He went to our GP who referred him to a skin clinic, and expedited the appointment for him as she as concerned it was cancerous.

Without her input he'd not have gotten the treatment he needed in time at all.