Pressure is mounting for swift measures to boost the number of skin specialists working in the NHS.

Janet Finch-Saunders MS has contacted Wales’ Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, pushing for greater support in recruiting dermatology experts.

According to her, the 111 platform indicates that the typical period before beginning skin treatment stands at 16 weeks, with one in ten patients enduring waits of 68 weeks or longer after being referred. She explained that numerous residents in her constituency have approached her, with some facing waits exceeding 100 weeks before receiving an appointment.

The prolonged waits have created considerable difficulties in their routine existence and compelled them to confront challenging choices, she noted.

She emphasised that expanding the specialist workforce is vital to tackle the mounting list of patients awaiting treatment, especially across the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board region.

Ms Finch-Saunders explained that she has advocated for additional specialists for some time, and in addressing a formal question she posed in 2024, the then Cabinet Secretary, who now serves as First Minister Eluned Morgan, confirmed that the health authority had formulated a strategy to tackle pressing concerns within its dermatology department.

Yet that assurance came almost two years past, and issues continue, waiting lists lengthen, and rising numbers of her constituents require assistance, she added.