Dr Victoria Swale

Professional profile

I have been a Consultant Dermatologist at the Royal Free London NHS Trust since 2004. I combine this post with a Consultant Dermatopathology role. My specialist interests are skin cancer, moles, pigmented lesions and vulval disease. My expertise in skin pathology informs my Dermatology practice such that I am highly accurate in clinical diagnoses and can safely choose minimally invasive biopsy techniques. Each consultation is 25 or 30 minutes, to allow time for a detailed history and examination as well as a thorough explanation of the condition and its treatment. I aim to inform my patients so we can adopt a collaborative approach to treatment decisions.

I see adults and children with the full range of skin, hair and nail conditions. My specialist areas are in the diagnosis and management of skin cancers and pre-cancers, pigmented and non-pigmented skin lesions, mole mapping and vulval disease.

I have been a core member of the Royal Free London NHS Trust skin cancer multidisciplinary team since 2004, both as a dermatologist and as a pathologist. This involves preparation and presentation at a weekly team meeting discussing appropriate management of patients with high risk skin cancer. In my private practice I carry out weekly minor surgery for skin lesion diagnosis and treatment; I regularly use cryotherapy in my NHS and private practice.

I was Clinical Governance lead for Dermatology at the Royal Free London NHS Trust for several years until 2018. I am a Council Member for the British Society for the Study of Vulval Disease

I have been a member of the Speciality Question Writing Group Committee for Dermatology for over 10 years, initially contributing Dermatology questions for the MRCP exam in General Medicine, and more recently writing questions for the Speciality Certificate Examination, taken by senior Dermatology trainees. I act as a reviewer for Dermatology and Dermatopathology journals. I am involved in training and assessing junior doctors in Dermatopathology and Dermatology. As a member of the External Quality Assurance scheme in Dermatopathology, my performance is regularly evaluated with consistently high ranking.

General Medical Council Number: C3613678