Leading Irish dermatological consultancy DermView has opened a new clinic in Lucan and announced plans to expand into Northern Ireland and the UK in partnership with the NHS next year.
The Lucan clinic will have four surgical theatres and five consulting rooms and represents an €8m investment for the company.
The company's technology allows patients, hospitals and clinics to receive rapid diagnoses from Mohs surgeons, who treat certain types of skin cancer, penile cancer, and soft tissue sarcoma of the skin, as well as consultant dermatologists and plastic surgeons.
"The Lucan surgical facility has seen its first patients come through the doors in recent months providing those with skin lesions a rapid end-to-end service from diagnosis to surgical excision and an impressive capacity to facilitate 15,000 dermatology surgeries per year," said Eoin O'Reilly, CEO and founder of DermView.
Dr Rupert Barry, medical director and founder of DermView, added: "The new clinic in Lucan will provide a much-needed service for patients.
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"From the various projects that DermView has been involved with in Ireland over the past 18 months, the rate of skin cancer has run between 13.5-20% of the examined patient cohort.
"When we look at the current 41,000 patients on the public dermatology waiting lists, this means that there are currently several thousand patients with skin cancer on the waiting list and at least 400-500 of these will have a malignant melanoma, which is a form of potentially fatal skin cancer.”
Founded in 2018, DermView recently secured additional funding of €2.8m from private investors to support its growth plans in Ireland and the UK and launch its OptaView service in Ireland.
The company has treated over 25,000 patients nationwide to date, and has identified shortening wait times as a key priority, with approximately 42,000 people awaiting dermatology appointments at present.
Over recent years, skin cancer has shown rising rates of incidence in Ireland with approximately 13,000 cases diagnosed annually, according to the Irish Skin Foundation.
DermView claims that 10,000 patients have been seen at hospitals working with the company that have seen a 40% reduction in dermatology waiting times, and a 98% reduction in 18-month-plus waiting list numbers.
Accounts for 2021, show DermView Ltd had net liabilities of €972,000 after making a loss of €658,000.
Investors in DermView include Sean Cotter, Tim Crowley and Richard Goodbody from Park Developments, Irrus Investment, and Donagh Barry of Barry’s Tea.
Photo: Nora Chiorascu, head of operations, demonstrating the DermView imaging process.
