Better recognition at the point of first contact.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, with primary care serving as the first port of call for most patients. General practitioners, practice nurses, advanced practitioners, and allied health professionals are ideally placed to spot a melanoma early. Equally important, these clinicians can offer confident reassurance to the far greater number of patients presenting with entirely harmless skin lesions.
The Dermoscopy Foundation was established by The MOLE Clinic to support colleagues in primary care, as well as relevant healthcare professionals in secondary care. We provide free, practical, clinically-led training in dermoscopy and skin lesion recognition, and we work to make dermoscopy a routine part of primary care and allied health practice across the UK.
Improved lesion recognition in primary care helps improve the identification of skin cancers at an earlier stage, reduces the referrals of benign skin lesions such as seborrhoeic keratoses, enables cost savings, and ultimately improves patient care.
What we do
Free training, always.
Every Dermoscopy Foundation course is free to attend. There is no membership, no subscription and no charge.
A pragmatic and common sense approach.
Our courses are built around the decisions clinicians actually make in a routine appointment: reassure, treat, or refer.
Open to the whole team.
Skin lesions are seen by GPs, practice nurses, ANPs, clinical nurse specialists, allied health professionals and many other hospital-based healthcare professionals. Our training is designed for all of them.
Taught by practising specialists.
Our courses are delivered by doctors who are widely recognised as some of the best speakers in the UK. The team are leaders in the field of skin cancer diagnosis and management in both primary and secondary care.
Dr Tim Cunliffe, Joint Medical Director of The MOLE Clinic
Led by Dr Tim Cunliffe
The Dermoscopy Foundation is led by Dr Tim Cunliffe, Joint Medical Director of The MOLE Clinic.
Tim has a portfolio career as a GP and GP with Extended Role (GPwER) in Dermatology and Skin Surgery. He is Skin Cancer Lead for the Department of Dermatology at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which serves a large population across Teesside and North Yorkshire.
Over the past two decades Tim has played a key role in upskilling primary care in dermatology. He is nationally recognised as one of the UK’s leading speakers on dermoscopy, is the author of the Primary Care Dermatology Society website (pcds.org.uk), and is a former Executive Chair of the Primary Care Dermatology Society.
He has contributed to several national dermatology projects, including developing the programme for the National Accreditation of Dermatology GPwERs alongside colleagues from the RCGP and the British Association of Dermatologists.
Outside work, Tim has two children, supports Leeds United, and is a keen skier with a long-standing interest in the outdoors and conservation.
Current courses
Skin Cancer in a Nutshell
Skin Cancer in a Nutshell, presented by Dr Tim Cunliffe, one of the UK’s leading speakers on dermoscopy, is a concise presentation highlighting the key clinical features of benign and malignant lesions, as well as covering the most common and easily identifiable dermoscopic features that enable healthcare professionals to screen out an array of benign skin lesions. Skin Cancer in a Nutshell also provides tips on teledermoscopy and affords time for questions from the audience.
Dermoscopy training is rarely available without a course fee. Ours is free, designed for general practice, and counts towards your CPD — most GPs self-certify one credit per hour.
Who it’s for: GPs, practice nurses, ANPs, clinical nurse specialists, allied health professionals, and colleagues working in secondary care.
Thursday 8 October 2026, 6.45pm – 8.00pm
2027 programme — join the waiting list
We are developing a wider programme of free training for 2027, including full-day regional dermoscopy courses delivered face to face.
Register your interest and we will contact you as soon as dates and locations are confirmed.