Leeds Community Dermatology Collaborative – One Year In

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In August 2022, Leeds GP Confederation was awarded the five-year Community Dermatology Contract for Leeds on behalf of the Leeds Community Dermatology Collaborative, working with Chevin Medical Practice, OneMedical Group, Street Lane Practice and Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust.

At the Confederation, we designed this Consultant Led partnership around a common vision; better dermatology care centred around the needs of patients, to improve referral routes between primary and secondary care, to make provision more equitable and accessible, and most importantly, to better meet the needs of our local communities.

In Year One of the contract, from August 2022 to July 2023, we achieved our goals of providing Leeds with an excellent dermatology service. You can have a look at our achievements in Year One below, along with feedback from patients who attended the service. 

Community Dermatology Service Year One Round Up The Leeds Dermatology Collaborative was awarded the Community Dermatology Contract for Leeds in August 2022, working with Chevin Medical Practice, OneMedical Group, Street Lane Practice and Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust. In Year One of the contract, from August 2022 to July 2023, we achieved the below: 6,446 Patients triaged. 5,835 First appointments. 6,494 Follow up appointments. From September 2023 our spread of delivery sites will allow the majority of patients in Leeds to access the service via public transport within 30 minutes of their home. During year one, we were one of the few services in West Yorkshire to meet the Referral to Treatment target of 18 weeks. We gave advice and guidance to referring GP practices for 1,414 patients. What did our patients say? 90% Received an appointment in a time frame appropriate for their needs. 98% Had confidence and trust in the health care professional they saw. 88% Rated the service very good/ good. 95% Reported they were very likely/likely to recommend this service to friends & family. A quote from a patient said “Clinician was skilled and respectful and put my special needs daughter, who is adopted and finds it hard to feel safe completely, at ease. Treatment has been excellent and the dermatologist succeeded in being both highly professional and hugely personable it’s been an excellent service and experience.” Another quote from a patient said “Wonderful to have such an excellent service in easy reach of home.” Produced by Leeds GP Confederation in partnership with Chevin Medical Practice, OneMedical Group, Street Lane Practice and Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust.

So What’s Next?

  • Developing our service. Including auditing Isotretinoin safety, improving access to the service, and improving outcomes for frail patients.
  • Growing our own. With a shortage of Dermatology trained staff available we have recruited a number of GPs with interest in Dermatology to train and support this coming year.
  • Improving the quality of referrals. Unfortunately, we are still receiving a number of in-appropriate referrals, and referrals without adequate information to clinically triage the patient (e.g., photographs, treatment history etc.)

If you work within Leeds General Practice you can download our handy referral guide here.