A lack of mental health care services for people with skin conditions is a 'slowly ticking timebomb' for the NHS, a charity has warned.
Changing Faces, which supports people with disfigurements and campaigns for 'face equality' and better quality of life for patients, said that whilst the cost of skin disease is relatively low at 2.23% of the NHS budget, the likely associated costs in mental health, or 'psychodermatology', are much greater. A survey by the charity found that only 11% of patients were offered psychosocial care by a health professional.
"There is huge stigma attached to skin disease," said James Partridge, the charity's chief executive. "Conditions are often wrongly assumed to be contagious or associated with bad hygiene, and the visibility of skin conditions mean that people have to deal with the double whammy of the reaction of others as well as the physical symptoms such as itching and pain."
Psychologists have long confirmed a link between skin conditions and mental health problems, including depression, and the degree of psychological distress is not linked to the perceived severity of the condition.
The report, 'Look at Me: integrated care for people with skin conditions',was launched on the final day of the Royal College of General Practitioners' conference in Liverpool.
According to the report, each year 54% of people experience a skin condition. A recent survey by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Skin found that GPs see an average of four patients with skin conditions each day.
"The lack of psychosocial care for skin patients is a missed opportunity to help people who are often slipping under the radar of mental health services," said Dr Partridge. "Whilst some clinical guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the British Association of Dermatologists and others includes standards for psychosocial care, many others do not. National strategic planning for effective treatment and care will reduce long term costs for the NHS, as well as help people back into work where they can be contributing to the public purse."
Chair of the campaign, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff - who is also President of the British Medical Association - welcomed the report, urging ministers to take note: "We know that the NHS is under strain at every level, but the failure to properly address this issue right now means that we're storing up problems for the future. I urge ministers in the Department of Health to read this report carefully and take heed of its recommendations."
The British Association of Dermatologists and the Primary Care Dermatology Society have also called for improvements in this area.