AN EXPRESS screening service for skin cancers has been launched so patients on Teesside don't even need to go into hospital.

There has been a rise in the number of melanoma, or skin cancers, across the country and now a special clinic has opened at the One Life Centre on Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, in an attempt to speed up diagnosis times.

A team of consultant dermatologists, GPs specialising in dermatology and skin cancer nurses at One Life are operating a rapid system whereby patients are seen within two weeks.

Consultant dermatologist Dr Rob Ellis works at both One Life and The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough. He said “The benefit of setting up the clinic is that if the lesion needs treating we can take it out that day."

Poppy Bowyer, 24, a volunteer at the Wildlife Trust, from Middlesbrough, was one of the first patients to use the new screening service after noticing a freckle or mole getting darker and going to her GP. She said the mole was immediately removed and the results came back clear. “It was a great relief as my family has a history of skin cancer," she said.

People are reminded to protect their skin from the sun during the summer.