The 10 year anniversary of the Dermatology Comprehensive Clinical Centre (DCCC) at Westmead Hospital

Surprisingly, it was 10 years ago that the Dermatology Comprehensive Clinical Centre was opened at Westmead Hospital. We have been so busy with the Covid-19 escalation and de-escalation, and with the new plans for the Department, that we almost missed the anniversary.

In 2010, the Department of Dermatology moved from running clinics in University Clinics (Clinic G) and having 3 rooms in A4c (one big room for biopsies and phototherapy, and a couple of small offices) to the new area in D5a, with a waiting room, reception, 4 clinic rooms, 2 procedural rooms, a large phototherapy room, a large meeting room (quickly transformed in research room), and dedicated offices for secretary, nurse and Head of Department. D5a is a regular Westmead Hospital ward, and we could not modify the structure (this had the added benefit that all our rooms have an ensuite), but it was a big space (566 sqm) full with opportunities.

And we took the opportunity.

Although the change did not bring any more staff or clinics in the short-term, in this 10 years, our Department has evolved to be one of the most vibrant and busy Dermatology Departments in Australia.

We moved from 4 VMO and 1 nurse running 4 clinics (1 surgical/biopsy clinic) with 3 registrars (only 1 full time) and a part time JMO, to 7 Staff Specialists, 3 VMOs, 1 Plastic Surgeon and 2 nurses that run 15 clinics (2 surgical clinics and 1 biopsy clinic) with 4 registrars (2 full-time) and one full-time JMO.

Additionally, we have added a Secretary, Front desk staff, a Clinical Research team (with 2 Research Medical Officers, a Clinical Trial Coordinator and and Administration Officer), a Translational Research team (1 Post-doctoral fellow and a PhD student) and 2 overseas Trainees.

We are still running our General Dermatology and Phototherapy Clinics as we did in 2010, but we have added a number of specialised clinics: Severe Psoriasis, Severe Eczema, Autoimmune Diseases, Autoinflammatory Diseases (HS clinic), Oncodermatology, Cutaneous Lymphoma, Solid-organ Transplant, High-Risk Melanoma, Graft vs Host Disease, Plastic Surgery and Advanced Dermatology Surgery. Some of these clinics are unique in Australia. Our clinicians (nurses and consultants) are being recognised as national and international experts in their fields. And we have developed and implemented new models of care.

We have added a number of equipments to our Unit. There is a dedicated NBUVB device and we keep our full body UVA and hand and foot UVA machines. We have two Full Body Photography, and Sequential Digital Dermoscopy equipments (one for teaching), and Confocal Microscopy. And we are looking forward to a new VECTRA WB360 3D whole body imaging system that will arrive soon.

In the research side, we participate in multiple clinical trials (more than 60 in these 10 years, from psoriasis, eczema or hidradenitis to cutaneous lymphoma and metastatic melanoma) and research projects (the last one the $10 million ACRF ACEMID). We have set up proteomics and immunohistochemistry platforms, and a Tissue Bank. And we are developing the Centre for Translational Skin Research at the University of Sydney.

According to Pubmed, the Department published 14 papers in 17 years, 1990 to 2007 (0.8 papers/year). Since 2010 we have published 119 papers (a paper each month!) including participation in NEJM and Lancet Oncology papers.

We can not forget our teaching side. More than a 100 medical students visit our Department every year in a 4-day rotation and we train 6 dermatology registrars every year. We provide teaching to medical students and many departments at Westmead and other hospitals (ED, ICU, Geriatrics, Immunology, Rheumatology). We run the Essential Dermatology Unit of Study (Derm5001) as part of the Master and Graduate Certificate in Medicine (University of Sydney). We organise a full day Master classes for Eczema or Psoriasis (more than 10 already) for interested groups. And we have available Honours, Master and PhD programs. Many students have left indelible marks in the Department’s life.

And lastly, but not least, we try to engage with the community. We have been running a Psoriasis Community Forum since 2010, and a Melanoma Monday in May since 2016, and we are commencing a Eczema Community Forum this year. We are engaging the community in our research projects, and we want to increase the involvement of our patients in all our activities.

The Department of Dermatology is now a thriving unit with strong clinical, research and teaching programs. This transformation would have not been possible without the commitment and work of all the nurses, consultants, registrars, JMOs, secretaries, administration officers, research fellows, PhD students and overseas trainees that have dedicated their time to make the Dermatology Comprehensive Clinical Centre at Westmead Hospital one of the best places to practice, teach, research and learn.

Looking forward to the next 10 years celebration.