Welcome to the Skin Care Campaign.

We are an umbrella organisation that unites the patient, healthcare professions, pharmaceutical industry and politicians who have a connection with skin diseases and conditions.  With over 6,000 skin conditions listed, it's likely that everybody knows somebody affected.

The Skin Care Campaign:

• campaigns for the improvement of healthcare for people with skin conditions;

• educates and informs the public, healthcare staff and the government about skin conditions and their treatment; and

• works alongside other influential organisations in order to achieve these objectives.

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Response to NHS Listening Exercise

Choice and Competition:

Choice must be informed choice so people know

• the details of the experience, qualifications and outcomes of those who are treating them

• the consequences of any treatments (both good and bad)

• the expected outcome of any clinical interventions.

There must be no conflicts of interest in competition: many doctors, inc. consultants and GPs, are shareholders in private organisations who will benefit from allocation of public funds – there must be transparency at all levels if they are involved in commissioning or service delivery.

Accountability and Patient Involvement:

Patient involvement must be integral to the planning, management and evaluation of services through effective governance structures inc PROMs, PREMs and inclusion in governance structures.

It is the responsibility of all clinical and commissioning stakeholders to ensure that patient and public involvement is an integral part of all service developments and governance and has sufficient status, direction and leadership to be as effective as possible.

The best way to design and develop user-centred dermatology services that meet the needs of people with skin conditions is to involve potential and current service users in their design and development. It is vital to seek the views and opinions of patients regarding the services they currently receive and those that would improve their treatment experience. These views should be used to inform the delivery, development and continuing governance of all services.

Education and Training:

It is essential that providers that do not include comprehensive education and training should not be able to compete equally against those providers that deliver these services and so maintain NHS sustainability. Education and research must be integral to all services.

To enable the continued training of professionals and advances through research all service specifications and submitted business cases must include financial support for education and research.

Advice and Leadership:

The most effective way of ensuring appropriate services are commissioned to meet local need is to have full stakeholder commissioning groups. Commissioners should develop and support a stakeholder commissioning group that includes patient representation and a range of clinical providers as outlined in the Primary Care Contracting document Providing Care for Patients with Skin Conditions: Guidance and Resources for Commissioners.

All recognised medical specialties should be represented on the NHS Commissioning Board. This should include dermatology as 50% of the population experience a skin problem each year, 24% of GP consultations relate to skin disease and 2% of the population are referred to secondary care dermatology each year.