Regulation to include Qualifications for Practitioners
The full results of the long-awaited review of plastic surgery standards are to be delayed by one month, until the end of April. The review, led by NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh, is intended to bring better regulation to the industry in order to ensure better and more consistent standards for patients.
However, an interim press release has suggested new laws to ensure that anyone performing these treatments is ‘competent and accountable’ which means “…getting either a qualification to perform and supervise aesthetic treatments, or a qualification to perform aesthetic treatments under the jurisdiction of a qualified clinical professional.”
The review notes that non-surgical treatments, including dermal fillers and laser treatments account for 90% of the UK cosmetic intervention sector, yet it is relatively unregulated compared to the cosmetic surgery side. This means that unlicensed and unqualified staff from beauticians to hairdressers can carry out potentially dangerous injectable and laser treatments.
Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical Director, said:
“I am concerned that some practitioners who are giving non-surgical treatments may not have had any appropriate training whatsoever. This leaves people exposed to unreasonable risks, and possibly permanent damage. And our research has shown that the public expect procedures that are so widely available to be safe whereas they are largely unregulated.
There is a clear need for better quality, recognised training for the people performing these operations.
My review will make a number of recommendations for making sure people who choose to undergo these procedures are in safe hands.”
The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons gave a cautious welcome to the idea, but said that it wanted only medical professionals to be allowed to perform treatments.
The full review into plastic surgery by NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh will be published later this month.
Qualified Non-Surgical Doctor, London
Dr Barbara Kubicka MD, CIME/ICAM, MBCAM is a fully qualified doctor, registered with the GMC and with additional qualifications in aesthetic treatments from the world-renowned College de International de Medicine Esthetique in Paris.
Dr Kubicka has many years’ experience in the industry and founded her own company, Clinicbe® in 2012. She welcomes the prospect of tighter regulation for the industry. Dr Kubicka explains:
“I have over the years met a few patients who have had poor results from unqualified practitioners. The results range from disappointing to disastrous.
Fillers and botox should never be thought of as simple beauty treatments, they are medical in every sense and should in my view only be administered by qualified doctors who have also gained specific qualifications in aesthetic medicine and substantial experience in a supervised setting before practising on their own.”
Contact Us
Dr Barbara Kubicka is the founder, director and lead doctor at Clinicbe® in Belgravia, London. With additional specialist qualifications, she has many years experience in working with dermal filler and is renowned for her exceptionally natural, yet effective results and high levels of patient satisfaction and loyalty.
For more information regarding Clinicbe®, or to book an appointment with Dr Kubicka, please call 0207 125 0521 or email info@clinicbe.com.
