Waiting times for BCC diagnosis crazy?

Unfortunately I think your experience isn’t unusual.  I had a BCC five years ago and got a private appointment and it removed within 3 weeks. Last year I had another BCC. I went to my GP in February 2024 and I am still waiting for the NHS appointment…18 months later! I went privately and had to wait 2 months for a consultation and another 2 months to have it removed!

I am not sure if where the BCC makes a difference, though I think if it’s on your face it’s one for plastic surgery so that may make a difference. 

It’s very hit and miss with nhs and private. 

At a full private  health check I asked about a lesion on my face that my gp had previously dismissed. This gp said I needed to be seen and have it removed asap and did me an urgent referral. As we had private healthcare I went down the private route. It took 5 weeks to get an appointment with a dermatologist. She confirmed a BCC and said she would refer me to a plastic surgeon for removal due to close proximity to my eye. I heard nothing for over a month and did some chasing where I eventually received a copy of the referral letter. Another month and no contact from plastic surgeon, More chasing to discover the plastic surgeon never got a copy of the referral letter! 

The plastic surgeons secretary was excellent and got me in as soon as possible. Unfortunately by this time our policy had expired and after the quote we received decided not to renew but was confident that as treatment and authorisation was before expiry date it would be covered…hmmm!!! In the end I have paid my plastic surgeon privately…£725 for consultation and excision of the BCC. Just waiting for a bill from the hospital but was worth it just to finally get it over and done with. and still cheaper than the renewal of my private healthcare! 

it may not be as expensive as you think so it’s worth getting a quote. My plastic surgeon had laid out his charges before I agreed. 

With nhs waiting lists so long, more people are going privately causing longer waiting times in the private sector. 

Thank you both for responding. Sorry to hear you've both had stressful experiences with waiting, but good it's been dealt with. It shouldn't be like this. Hope things improve soon!

I had a private consultation for a suspected bcc on my nose last September 2024. Referred to a private Mohs specialist which took another month. But also went to my GP for referral on NHS,

Went on a planned holiday for 3 weeks in November. On return scheduled a biopsy privately for January 2025. Still hadn’t heard anything re NHS appointment .

Had biopsy in January. BCC confirmed. Cost of private MOHs was £5000 but question mark over how much extra for flap and any reconstruction that might be needed. Could have ended up costing £10 k or more. 

NHS appointment finally came through. I let them know I no longer needed it.

I could have had the surgery privately in March but opted to try for a NHS referral via my private consultant and this was scheduled as a phone consultation in April. Surgery date is 3 September.

So it will have been a year from my first appointment to my surgery date and a mix of private and NHS appointments. 

Going private is still obviously quicker but even then the wait times are a couple of months. There seems to be a shortage of dermatologists in the UK as the wait times in both sectors are very long.

Hope you get your diagnosis confirmed soon. It’s very worrying especially if it seems to be fast growing.