The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, turned to Dunedin Hospital’s ED department for help last month after her GP was repeatedly unable to improve her painful skin condition.
However, she does not have cancer, and had not had chemotherapy.
She is among those unable to see a dermatologist following the loss of the specialist service in Southern.
"When I saw the triage nurse she asked me if I had burns from chemo . . . she was shocked."
"I then saw the doctor who said ‘I can’t tell you what that is, but I think you should be going to a specialist’."
This is no longer an option through the public health system.
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) Southern are no longer allowing GPs to
make dermatology referrals, although there is a process to renew medication for those who already have a specialist prescription.
This follows the loss of two contractors who had been travelling to the South from elsewhere in the country to provide dermatology services, as reported by the ODT earlier this month.
HNZ Southern said it was attempting to recruit staff to revive the service, but pointed to a general shortage — there are only about 22 FTE dermatologists employed nationwide in the public system.
The organisation said it encouraged patients to see their family doctor in the meantime.
The woman, who had alopecia and eczema as well as struggling with the itchy, painful head rash, said she had attempted to find a specialist.
A lack of face-to-face appointments and fees of several hundred dollars were not
promising, she said.
"To me that’s not really an appointment. Photos do not do this situation justice."
Other private providers suggested to her lived elsewhere in the country, such as Christchurch and Auckland.
She was using all the creams and pills she had been given, and following a mostly healthy diet.
The rash was impacting her daily life, such as her ability to wear a wig.
"Every time I go to the doctor’s, I feel heartbroken that I am not getting answers — I feel the only doctor that gave me an honest answer was the doctor at ED.
"I feel like the health system is failing me big-time."
If people did not speak up, nothing would change, she said.
A Central Otago resident struggling with keratosis also said the need for dermatology expertise was "paramount".
"I think that skin problems can often be seen by others as "‘just skin problems’, but they are often debilitating and mentally draining," he said.
He had a heavy flare-up that lasted several months.
"You wake up in the morning and you think, well, they must be a bit better today, and they’re not — and in fact, there might be more [spots].
Others, including a GP, had tried to help, and he appreciated this and did not want to overshadow their efforts, he said.
However, they were not specialists.
He had a history of skin issues, and had good service from retired dermatologist Dr David Young throughout the last three decades, but now there was no-one.
"It’s not so much about me, it’s the overall situation.
"I would support anything that could be done to get some dermatologists in the South."
Dr Young spoke to the Otago Daily Times earlier this month about the lack of specialists in the public system, an issue he said he had warned of for years.
An exchange of letters with the former Southern DHB in 2018 show management said there were not enough funds to provide the boost he urged for to address the "clinically unsafe" situation.
Some Dunedin GPs also criticised the situation, warning they did not have the funding and resources, nor, in some cases, the expertise, to treat patients needing specialist dermatological care.
