Call 01557 428 504 for the Skinship helpline. Available throughout normal office hours, 9am-5pm, Mon - Fri

Since making the BBC documentary ‘Scratching the Surface’, and on a purely voluntary basis, I have endeavoured to offer information, advice and emotional and psychological support to UK skin sufferers. I never ‘play doctor’, however, unlike some busy clinicians, I try, through listening, to see the whole person, and help in any way that I can. Additionally, I also try to make sure that my callers are empowered to get the very best out of their contacts with the conventional, and, if appropriate, the alternative fields of medicine. Each call is treated in strict confidence, and there is no set time limit. If I’m taking a call, a new caller can leave me a message on the answerphone, which I always return. Our skin disease support line is available during normal office hours, i.e., 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. However, if this is inconvenient for some people who are working, arrangements can sometimes be made for me to take calls outside of these hours.

I consider it a real privilege to have done this work for over 20 years.