Digital imaging service slashes waits for skin cancer checks
Fiona Hayward-Lyon, from Farndon in Nottinghamshire, is one of nearly 2,000 patients seen by the trust with suspected skin cancer who have benefitted from faster access to diagnosis. The service was fully introduced in June 2024 and one year on, has been described as a "big success" by the trust. Mrs Hayward-Lyon had become concerned about a lesion on her forehead.The 63-year-old's appointment for photographs was arranged within three days of seeing her GP, and it took just over four weeks to get the surgery, which took place in October."I'd had a red blemish on my forehead for a while and I suddenly noticed it was getting raised," she said.A dermatologist then examined her images remotely.Only three per cent of patients under the trust's care require a face-to-face follow-up appointment after the initial photography, and some like Mrs Hayward-Lyon go on to require surgery. In her case, a basal cell carcinoma - a type of skin cancer - was diagnosed needing removal. She said: "I didn't expect to be seen so quickly. I can now move on and be a little more careful in the Sun."
Consultant dermatologist Dr Ritu Singla, who treated Mrs Hayward-Lyon, said the photography service allowed medics to reassure patients sooner if they did not have cancer."We can rule out lots of benign [non-cancerous] lesions, which are the bulk of cases," she said."It also enables us to start treatment sooner for those patients where cancer has been diagnosed."
Dr Singla said: "Patients are more aware of skin cancer these days, [but] at the same time in the aftermath of the pandemic we had long waiting lists. "We prioritised but some patients were waiting months for treatment." There is a national NHS target for 96% of skin cancer cases to treated with 31 days of a decision to treat. Prior to the introduction of the photography service, the trust achieved 72% in the first quarter of 2023-24. Latest figures show 100% of patients in February 2025 were treated within the target time.
Clinical photographer Jason Randall says he uses a special polarised light, a device called a dermatoscope, to help produce high-resolution images. He said: "It enables the camera to see into the first layer of the skin not clearly visible to the naked eye and crucially the edges of the lesion." Greater use of technology is one of the themes of the government's new NHS 10-year plan, which looks to improve efficiency, productivity and outcomes for patients.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Guardian
7 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Rachel Reeves insists she is ‘cracking on with the job' after Commons upset
The Chancellor and Sir Keir Starmer shared a hug, and the Chancellor smiled throughout her first public appearance after she broke down in tears in the House of Commons. Ms Reeves would not, however, be drawn into answering questions about the 'personal matter' which had upset her ahead of Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions. She told broadcasters: 'Clearly I was upset yesterday and everyone could see that. It was a personal issue and I'm not going to go into the details of that. 'My job as Chancellor at 12 o'clock on a Wednesday is to be at PMQs next to the Prime Minister, supporting the Government and that's what I tried to do. 'I guess the thing that maybe is a bit different between my job and many of your viewers' is that when I'm having a tough day it's on the telly and most people don't have to deal with that.' The Chancellor rejected suggestions that her tears were related to a conversation with Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle or another member of Government. 'People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday. Today's a new day and I'm just cracking on with the job,' she added. Sir Keir gave a full-throated defence of his Chancellor, and said he had not appreciated how upset she was while he was focused on the cut and thrust of Parliament's most-viewed weekly event. On Thursday, the Chancellor appeared alongside the Prime Minister and Health Secretary Wes Streeting as the Government launched it's 10-year plan for the NHS in London. Ms Reeves made no mention of Wednesday's incident in the Commons as she made her first public appearance since crying in the chamber. Smiling as she spoke at a health centre in London, the Chancellor insisted the NHS plan was 'good for the health of our nation and good for the health of our nation's finances'. She also stopped to take selfies with nurses and other healthcare staff who were gathered for the launch. Sir Keir and Ms Reeves embraced as he made his way to the podium to give a speech after the Chancellor had finished. The Prime Minister poured praise upon her in an open show of unity, hailing the decisions made by the Chancellor as playing a part in the Government investing 'record amounts in the NHS'. Sir Keir said he did not 'appreciate' that Ms Reeves was crying behind him at PMQs as the event is 'pretty wired'. 'It goes from question to question and I am literally up, down, question, looking at who is asking me a question, thinking about my response and getting up and answering it,' he said. Sir Keir added: 'It wasn't just yesterday. No prime minister ever has had side conversations in PMQs. It does happen in other debates when there is a bit more time, but in PMQs it is bang, bang, bang, bang. 'That is what it was yesterday and therefore I was probably the last to appreciate anything else going on in the chamber.' As the Prime Minister took questions from the media, several journalists invited Ms Reeves to comment on her tears, but only Sir Keir answered. Earlier, the Prime Minister said all people could be caught 'off guard' by their emotions, but the Chancellor had to deal with it while on camera in Parliament. He said she was doing an 'excellent' job, would remain in place beyond the next general election, and that they were both absolutely committed to the Chancellor's 'fiscal rules' to maintain discipline over the public finances. UK Government bonds rallied and the pound steadied on Thursday, after reassurances from the Prime Minister about the Chancellor's future. The sight of her in tears on Wednesday, and the £5 billion black hole in her public spending plans as a result of the welfare U-turn had spooked the markets, triggering a sharp sell-off of bonds, with the yield seeing the sharpest increase since US President Donald Trump's tariff plans shook up financial markets in April. Back in the Commons chamber, Commons Leader Lucy Powell defended her 'friend' Ms Reeves, and said 'she's got more class than most of the rest of the members opposite on the frontbench'. Leadership is hard. There are good days, some very good, and bad days, some very bad. The resilience you need for top jobs is superhuman. But if a Chief Exec cried in public, if a military chief said they hadn't read the operational plan properly because they had a bad day,… — Claire Coutinho (@ClaireCoutinho) July 3, 2025 The Conservatives meanwhile suggested Ms Reeves' public show of emotion was not acceptable. In a post on X shared by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said: 'Leadership is hard. There are good days, some very good, and bad days, some very bad. The resilience you need for top jobs is superhuman. 'But if a chief exec cried in public, if a military chief said they hadn't read the operational plan properly because they had a bad day, they would not be forgiven for it.'
Powys County Times
7 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Weight-loss jabs on NHS may be rolled out ‘in high streets and shopping centres'
People could soon get their NHS weight-loss jabs via shopping centres, a new health plan suggests, after the Health Secretary said the injections were the 'talk of the House of Commons tea rooms'. The 10-year plan for the health service says there is a need to expand access to weight-loss services and treatments and bring them closer to where people live and work. It says the Government will work with industry 'to test innovative models of delivering weight loss services and treatments to patients effectively and safely' in convenient locations, which may include 'on the high street, or at any out-of-town shopping centre'. Digital-only models, where everything is done and managed online, may also be put in place, the plan says. Furthermore, companies will not just paid if people lose weight, 'but if that also translates into outcomes that really matter for patients, such as fewer heart attacks, strokes or cancer diagnoses'. Earlier, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said weight-loss jabs should be available according to need, not the ability to pay. At the moment, people with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or more, or 30 but with a linked health condition, can be prescribed jabs on the NHS through specialist weight-management services. Other people are paying hundreds of pounds a month to get the jabs privately. Mr Streeting told LBC radio: 'Weight-loss jabs are the talk of the House of Commons tea rooms, half my colleagues are on them and are judging the rest of us saying 'you lot should be on them'. 'And the thing is, if you can afford these weight loss jabs, which can be over 200 quid a month, well that's all right for you. 'But most people in this country haven't got a spare two and a half grand a year and often the people who have the worst and most challenging obesity also have the lowest income. 'So I'm bringing to weight loss jabs the principle of fairness which has underpinned the NHS. 'It should be available based on need and not the ability to pay. 'And that's what we're going to do on weight-loss jabs, as well as a number of other things, including people getting more fit, more active, supporting people on diet and nutrition….that's the bit of the weight-loss jab debate that sometimes gets lost. 'It's not that you can have some weight-loss jabs and stuff your face with Jaffa cakes…'
South Wales Guardian
7 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Weight-loss jabs on NHS may be rolled out ‘in high streets and shopping centres'
The 10-year plan for the health service says there is a need to expand access to weight-loss services and treatments and bring them closer to where people live and work. It says the Government will work with industry 'to test innovative models of delivering weight loss services and treatments to patients effectively and safely' in convenient locations, which may include 'on the high street, or at any out-of-town shopping centre'. Digital-only models, where everything is done and managed online, may also be put in place, the plan says. Furthermore, companies will not just paid if people lose weight, 'but if that also translates into outcomes that really matter for patients, such as fewer heart attacks, strokes or cancer diagnoses'. Earlier, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said weight-loss jabs should be available according to need, not the ability to pay. At the moment, people with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or more, or 30 but with a linked health condition, can be prescribed jabs on the NHS through specialist weight-management services. Other people are paying hundreds of pounds a month to get the jabs privately. Mr Streeting told LBC radio: 'Weight-loss jabs are the talk of the House of Commons tea rooms, half my colleagues are on them and are judging the rest of us saying 'you lot should be on them'. 'And the thing is, if you can afford these weight loss jabs, which can be over 200 quid a month, well that's all right for you. 'But most people in this country haven't got a spare two and a half grand a year and often the people who have the worst and most challenging obesity also have the lowest income. 'So I'm bringing to weight loss jabs the principle of fairness which has underpinned the NHS. 'It should be available based on need and not the ability to pay. 'And that's what we're going to do on weight-loss jabs, as well as a number of other things, including people getting more fit, more active, supporting people on diet and nutrition….that's the bit of the weight-loss jab debate that sometimes gets lost. 'It's not that you can have some weight-loss jabs and stuff your face with Jaffa cakes…' He said obesity cost the NHS billions a year, adding that taxes have been going 'up and up' to pay for the health service.
