Dermatology

You can be referred to us directly via your GP or a hospital specialist.

Your GP can refer you for either a routine or urgent appointment, or request 'Advice and Guidance' from our team.

For a mole or solitary skin lesion, most GPs can submit images for review by our team. For possible or suspected skin cancer referrals, you should receive an initial appointment within two weeks. All other appointments will depend on appointment availability. Wait times from referral to treatment currently can be up to 65 weeks.

• British Association of Dermatologists
• DermNet NZ  
• Delivering Teledermatology Across Cheshire & Merseyside - A system users guide.

During your consultation you will be asked about your medical history, and will be asked for a list of your current medications (so please bring a list with you if possible).

Once you have seen the specialist doctor or nurse to discuss your future treatment plan, you may be given an outcome form to hand into reception on your departure. Please ensure that you hand this to the receptionist to enable them to make a follow-up appointment (if needed).

If a hospital prescription is provided this should be collected from the pharmacy department which is located on the ground floor of the main hospital building at both hospitals. The pharmacy at Broadgreen is very close to the Dermatology clinic. Please note that we shall often ask your GP to prescribe the recommended treatment plan, by asking you to drop in a paper request at your surgery. This allows you to pick up your medicines from your local pharmacy. 

If you require a surgical procedure, you will usually be placed on a waiting list and the appointment will be sent through the post as generally we are not able to provide a same-day service for operations. Although, recently we have commenced a ‘one stop’ service of same-day biopsy or excision at Broadgreen Hospital. 

Most procedures are carried out within our departments, but sometimes we may recommend referral to the Maxillofacial Surgeons at Aintree or the Plastic Surgeons at St Helens and Whiston Hospitals.

What happens next?

Once your minor procedure has taken place the results can take up to 4-6 weeks. Usually the result is sent to you via a letter from your clinical team, along with a follow up appointment if required.

Our consultants and specialist registrars in dermatology provide on-call cover for dermatological emergencies, Monday to Friday, 9am-7pm and weekends/bank holidays, 9am-4pm. Patients are normally referred to this service directly via their GP or departments within the hospital such as accident and emergency.

Research is an on-going and an important aspect of our work, helping us to improve treatment for patients with debilitating skin conditions.

You may be invited to participate in clinical research studies to help us understand and answer important questions about drug therapies and treatments.

To find out about current research opportunities or register for future studies, please contact our research nurses or visit the Dermatology Research page.

Research nurses

Telephone: 0151 282 6979

Email:  dermatologyresearch@liverpoolft.nhs.uk

Outpatient Department

• Diagnostic and therapeutic services
• Cutaneous lymphoma - specialist monthly joint clinic
• Dermatological surgery and minor operations
• Dressings
• Iontophoresis and botulinum toxin treatment for hyperhidrosis
• Patch testing (for allergic contact dermatitis)
• Photodynamic therapy (PDT)
• Phototherapy - UVB, TLO1, PUVA
• Psoriasis - specialist clinic
• Nurse consultant in inflammatory dermatology – phototherapy, psoriasis and acne clinics, systemic drug monitoring and biologics 
• Nurse consultant in skin cancer clinics - basal cell carcinoma clinics (BCC); community lesion clinic
• Specialist nurse clinics - systemic drug monitoring and biologics and isotretinoin clinics and iontophoresis assessment clinics
• Skin cancer - rapid lesion clinics, all potential skin cancers are seen within 14 days
• Transplant clinic
• Vulval skin disease - specialist clinic.

Ward 4 - Dermatology Ward

• Special bandaging
• Applying ointments
• Injecting skin lesions
• Cryotherapy
• Photodynamic therapy
• Phototherapy
• Counselling
• Skin surgery
• Delivery of new biologics medicines.

We also have a day case facility for patients requiring treatments as an outpatient.

Phototherapy Unit - based next to Ward 4 on the first floor of the Alexandra Wing

We provide ultra-violet therapies, topical treatments such as dithranol and tar can be arranged with full private shower facilities. Treatments are performed and monitored by trained nursing staff and an 'out of hours' facility is available:

• TLO narrowband UVB.
• PUVA
• Bath PUVA
• Hand and foot PUVA
• PDT
• Iontophoresis

Allergy Clinic

The Allergy clinic is also located within the Department.