Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential (a) merits of teledermatology and (b) impact of teledermatology on the level of waiting list backlogs caused by covid-19 in England.

While the Department has not made a formal assessment of the potential merits of teledermatology or the impact of teledermatology on waiting list backlogs caused by COVID-19 in England, the Department continues to support the National Health Service in working to ensure the recovery and transformation of all elective services, including for patients with skin conditions. This includes providing record levels of funding and setting direction through the elective recovery delivery plan published last year. NHS England’s outpatient recovery and transformation programme published a teledermatology roadmap in 2021.

The outpatient recovery and transformation programme has also introduced a number of initiatives such as using advice and guidance and the virtual teledermatology two-week wait pathway, as well as patient initiated follow-up and remote consultations, all of which provide opportunities to reduce the number of patients attending face-to-face appointments. This means capacity can be released for patients that need to be seen face-to-face, such as those with extensive inflammatory skin disease.

Through these approaches, NHS providers are tackling the backlogs caused by the pandemic and transforming service provision for all patients.