For those following the industry news, this week saw the announcement that the government plans to license all premises and practitioners offering aesthetic treatments. This is a huge step forward in public safety.
For the next 6 weeks, anyone can complete the consensus and let their voice be heard. If you agree that the UK’s current situation is unsafe, we encourage you to complete the survey.
The government is not aiming to stop non-medics but to make them follow the same safety rules. After all, the government earns vast amounts of VAT from this group, so it won’t want to lose this source of income! They want to reduce complications that go on to be managed in the NHS!
If you’re unsure what the situation is, I have identified some main differences between medically qualified and those offering treatments without medical qualifications.
| Medically Qualified (Doctors, Nurses, Dentist and prescribing pharmacists) | Mandatory practices which ensure patient safety |
| Minimum three years of university study in one of the above specialties | Scotland must be registered with Health Care Improvement Scotland |
| Anyone with only a few days of experience can set up a training academy with no minimum standards. | Not registered or accountable to any governing body or professional organisation |
| Must have medical malpractice insurance. | No mandatory requirement to have insurance |
| Mandatory ongoing professional education with a minimum qualification | No mandatory requirement |
| Registered with a professional body to whom they are accountable to | No minimum standards required |
| Experience dealing with infection control measures | No clinical experience |
| Answerable for complication | No requirement |
| You can order products from anywhere. | No requirement |
| Only use medical-grade products from traceable suppliers | There is no requirement to offer assessment, often treated with illegal botox products, as they cannot get prescribing health professionals to prescribe for them due to the risks associated with non-healthcare professionals. |
| Professional training courses must meet minimum competency requirements | Patients must have a face-to-face health assessment and consultation before botox which must be prescribed for them |
| Some still treat under 18s even though they know the law is being broken. | There is no requirement to offer assessment, often treated with illegal botox products as they cannot get prescribing health professionals to prescribe for them due to the risks associated with non-healthcare professionals. |
| No requirement to offer assessment, often treated with illegal botox products as they cannot get prescribing health professionals to prescribe for them due to the risks associated with non-healthcare professionals. | Refuse aesthetic treatments to those under 18 ( this is illegal). |
For us, the biggest issue is not whether one group is a better-skilled injector. It is centred around the fact that the public should be able to book for treatment and know that they are getting treated with a regulated product that has passed rigorous safety standards. They should not need to ask whether the injector has a minimum standard of qualification or if they are insured, and they should be reassured that if there is a complication, the practitioner will follow them up until a satisfactory resolution has been achieved.
Many think this is a witch hunt against non-medical, but to be blunt, it’s not. The simple truth is we see complications regularly in the clinic, and the majority result from non-medically qualified practitioners. In addition, the alarming figures released recently confirmed that 80% of non-medical do not have insurance!
I know many experienced and safe non-medically qualified practitioners are equally concerned about the lack of regulations and very keen that the industry is cleaned up. This will reassure the public who chose to get procedures outside a medical lead clinic environment that they will be treated safely and respectfully.
We encourage everyone, either patients, qualified or unqualified, to click on the link and complete the consensus. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/licensing-of-non-surgical-cosmetic-procedures
As always, we hope you all have happy, safe experiences if you choose to get an aesthetic procedure.
Author: Julia Hart
