A report by the King’s Fund into the current state of NHS dermatology services has identified staff shortages, poor training, inconsistent quality in diagnosis and treatment, and large variations in access to specialist care, affecting millions of patients across the UK each year.

Each year approximately 24 per cent of the population will visit their GP with a skin complaint, making skin conditions the most frequent reason for people to consult their doctor with a new problem.

The authors Nigel Edwards and Candace Imison summarise: “There are approximately 13 million GP consultations for skin conditions a year and 716,830 new referrals and yet this important area is poorly understood and has received comparatively little attention.

"Commissioning has often been poor. Inadequate planning has left gaps in the workforce. The 40,000 GPs managing this workload have received little training in dermatology and there are only 650 consultants to advise them and provide the more specialist care."

The authors call for an urgent improvement in the quality of dermatology knowledge in primary care and better commissioning.