A doctor from Marlow began building her own dermatology clinic when the coronavirus pandemic hit and she has opened up about her journey.
Derma Reading started construction work a few weeks before the UK's first national lockdown but Dr. Rima Clayton decided to continue the build through the pandemic.
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Dr. Rima Clayton has been a dermatologist for nearly 14 years and after training in Amersham and Reading worked in Oxford and Reading, where she decided to build her own clinic.
The clinic opened on October 1 last year and has been able to stay open through the second and third national lockdown for medical procedures.
Dr. Clayton said: “Just a month in we hit lockdown number two, which was a bit disappointing, understandably, for everybody.
“We have managed to stay open.
“We don't do any of the cosmetic work, it's all about the medical side of things.
“It has had its moments where it's got a little bit quieter, but on the whole, it's going well.”
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However, during the pandemic, there has been less face to face visits and the doctor believes things are being missed on telephone consultations.
She continued: “I think there is a worry at the moment that because you can't get in to see your GP a lot of it is done on telephone consultation.
“Things are actually being missed because nobody's seen them and that when they come into us for one problem, we're picking up other medical problems as well, not necessarily just skin related.
“Unfortunately I think that's a consequence of the pandemic and not being able to see GP as much.”
The doctor talked about her love for the specialty and encouraged medical students to think about a career in dermatology.
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She said: “It is an absolutely amazing specialty.
“One minute I can be seeing a three-hour old baby and the next minute I could be seeing a hundred and eight-year-old.
“There are so many different aspects to it that even now, having been a consultant for nearly 14 years, I still get really excited talking about it.”
For more information on Derma Reading please visit here.
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