I thought I'd go into town, on the bus, to the Dermatology Department at the Florence Nightingale Hospital and see what was happening, if anything. The photo is of one pair of the original pepperpot towers of the Derby Royal Infirmary. 

The receptionist found my records and confirmed that the removal of the mole on my back was not an urgent case, and that the potential wait for treatment was between 12 and 18 months. 

I called at the doctors' surgery on the way home, just to check that it was okay to wait that long... and apparently it is. I'll get someone to take a photo of the mole now and again to see if it's growing, but things like that are such a palaver when you live on your own!