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Due to COVID resulting in all elective surgeries being cancelled; it was thought that patients with suspected skin cancer maybe seeing a specialist and having surgery later than. So, to tackle this as lockdown occurred, the Plastic Surgery department at Charing Cross Hospital secured a minor operation room in outpatients, to keep treating suspected skin cancer. But did it work?

Data was collected from an interval of 2 months before the pandemic (December-January) and 2 months post the pandemic (April-May). Each suspected skin cancer patient who was put on the two weeks wait referral during that time had their receipt of referral, first appointment with a specialist and date of surgery (if that was done) recorded.

Before COVID 81% of patients were seen by a specialist in 2 weeks compared to 89% after COVID. Also, 78% of …