London patients requiring dermatology care are facing long waiting times with all NHS hospital trusts in London failing to meet the Government’s targets for wait lists, data has revealed.
None of the 17 hospital trusts in London met the 92% target set by the Government and NHS England for dermatological care waiting times, analysis of NHS Data from February has revealed.
Under targets set by NHS England, 92% of patients should be treated within 18 weeks of being referred to hospital by their GP.
Nine London hospital trusts had longer waiting times than the national average of patients seen within 18 weeks, with Whittington Health NHS Trust revealed to be the worst performing hospital trust where less than half of patients were seen within the target period.
Dr Carolyn Charman, clinical vice president of the British Association of Dermatologists, said: “These findings reflect sustained pressure on dermatology services in London and across the country, where demand is rising faster than capacity.
“We are seeing growing numbers of patients, including a particularly high volume of urgent referrals for suspected skin cancer, which are nationally prioritised.
“Most of these referrals do not result in a cancer diagnosis, but assessing them requires significant clinical capacity and directly impacts waiting times for people with other skin conditions.”
The best performing trust, Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, saw 89% of patients within 18 weeks.
Anna Kiff, 26, from Islington in north London, said she faced two separate waits of more than a year, one a decade ago and again in 2023 to get help for cystic acne.
She said: “I was desperate to see the dermatologist.
“It definitely impacted me a lot when I was younger as I was feeling very insecure and upset about my skin.”
Kiff, who works as a communications consultant, said that when she needed a further round of medication she decided to go private.
She added: “Not having to wait for my second course as we went private made a whole world of difference.”
In 2023, Kiff went to the GP again for a referral for her acne.
She said: “It was nearly a year and a half from the initial ask to actually seeing a clinician. The wait time was just incredibly frustrating, and I felt as if no one could answer my questions.
“The GP said to call the hospital department, when I spoke to them they said someone will be in touch within the next six months. The lack of a more specific timeframe for that was confusing for me, so I definitely felt a bit lost for a while just waiting for an email that felt like it would never come.”
Dr Charman said dermatology specialists are helping GPs deliver faster care by providing rapid remote advice using images of patients’ skin conditions so more people can receive expert input without needing a hospital referral.
“This work also adds to the overall demand on dermatology services and is not fully captured in waiting time figures,” she added.
The capital has over 70,000 patients on the dermatology waiting list, more than a sixth of the almost 400,000 who are on the dermatology waiting list across the UK.
Dr Viktoria Eleftheriadou, consultant dermatologist and honorary associate professor at the University of Birmingham’s College of Medicine and Health, said: “This reflects both rising demand and a shift in case mix.
“With more mild conditions now managed in primary care and pharmacies, secondary care is increasingly seeing more complex and severe cases, which take longer to assess and treat.
“That inevitably slows pathways and contributes to breaches of the 18-week target.”
Stephen Biggerstaff, 36, was diagnosed with Bowen’s disease, an early form of skin cancer, but was forced to go private to get it removed because the waiting time to surgically remove it was 14 months.
He said: “I think the wait times are disgraceful and the very good people who work in the NHS are being burnt out, and betrayed by the people who organise and fund the system.
“I was told it could develop into melanoma and be dangerous in around 12 months. I had to go private to make sure it was dealt with quickly.
“I feel like I was quite lucky that I had private healthcare through my job so I could fall back on that.”
He experienced the long wait times again when he was diagnosed with Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), a skin condition which he was given antibiotics for.
Biggerstaff said: “Once you are put on antibiotics, it’s nurses at every subsequent appointment. It’s hard to see an actual dermatologist doctor.
“I then had to come off the medication and wait 11 months to be seen again. During that time my condition worsened quite significantly where it hurt to move around or even walk.”
Patients in south west London faced the longest waits across the capital for treatment, with almost half of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for a dermatology appointment.
In comparison, patients in east London were seen the quickest with just under a quarter of patients waiting more than 18 weeks.
Moreover, the average wait time for a dermatology appointment in London has more than doubled from six weeks in 2014 to 14 weeks in 2026, increasing at the same rate as the UK as a whole.
A workforce report by the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) in 2024 showed that demand for dermatology services is “outstripping” the capacity of the workforce to deliver dermatology care.
The report by the college warned of a “particularly concerning” situation for dermatology services as dermatology referral rates rapidly increase year-on-year, particularly for skin cancer.
A 2021 NHS dermatology report also emphasised a “severe workforce shortage caused by a long-term restriction on the number of new dermatology training posts”.
A separate 2025 report by the BAD outlined the need for urgent action to use AI technology in dermatology to help tackle skin cancer, the UK’s most common cancer.
A spokesperson for Whittington Health NHS Trust said: “We realise how important it is for everyone to get the care they need as quickly and safely as possible and that is why we took steps which saw nearly 1,000 patients come off our dermatology waiting lists between January and March 2026.
“Like many NHS organisations our waiting times are longer than they should be and we will continue to do everything we can to reduce them.”
A spokesperson from Croydon Health Services NHS Trust said: “Dermatology waiting times at the Trust are currently longer than we would want, largely due to ongoing challenges in recruiting specialist clinical staff amid rising GP referrals.
“We are working with our South West London partners to reduce variation in waiting times, improve how services are delivered across the area, and invest in digital solutions. Further improvements are planned over the next two years to help patients start treatment more quickly.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “NHS waiting lists are at their lowest in three years, dropping by more than 400,000 since July 2024 – including 52,00 in London – thanks to this government’s record investment and modernisation.
“We are making progress but know there is more to do to hit our target of 92% of patients seen within 18-weeks by March 2029.
“Through NHS England’s Further Faster programme, we are improving patient access to dermatology alongside 23 other services.
“The health service is also pioneering the use of AI to manage skin cancer referrals, which now represent around 50% of dermatology referrals, in order to free up clinicians to see more patients and help to reduce waiting lists.”
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