Scotland moves to regulate booming aesthetics industry amid safety fears

A new bill to regulate Scotland’s booming aesthetics industry has passed its first parliamentary hurdle – amid claims patients are currently coming to harm at the hands of unqualified, rogue injectors.

The Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill includes a ban on under-18s having treatments like Botox and dermal filler – and requires procedures to be carried out in approved premises with a regulated healthcare professional on site.

If passed, Scotland will become the first nation in the UK to formally regulate non-surgical cosmetic treatments.

The proposed legislation has been welcomed as a long-overdue safety measure, though some in the sector warn it must not come at the cost of jobs.

‘I support the bill – but we need to protect livelihoods too’

Tina McAffery says the legislation should ensure non-medic practitioners' livelihoods are protected — Tina McAffery says the legislation should ensure non-medic practitioners’ livelihoods are protected STV News

Tina McAffery has been an aesthetics practitioner and trainer for more than two decades – running qualification courses from her base in Invergordon.

She says a lack of regulation hasn’t kept pace with demand for non-surgical cosmetic treatments like Botox and filler, and patients have come to harm.

A new bill which stating who can do these treatments – and from where – has become a touchy issue.

Tina says the need for a medical prescriber could force practitioners out of business, particularly in rural areas.

“I support the bill – however, there are certain aspects that need to be amended to ensure that non-medics can safely practice with their skills and their qualifications so that they don’t lose their livelihoods.

“Don’t get me wrong, there are cowboys in the industry,” she said. “There are bad non-medics, and there are also bad medics who have done complications and got things wrong. You don’t hear about that on the news.

“If you’ve studied for months, even years, to get that qualification – and you are safe, comfortable and knowledgeable – you should be allowed to practice.”

The bill states that premises wanting to carry out procedures that pierce the skin like Botox and filler must be registered with Healthcare improvement Scotland.

The person doing them must be a regulated health professional, for example a nurse, doctor, dentist or pharmacist, if not, they must be supervised by one, known as a prescriber. Under 18s would be banned from having these procedures and there would be sanctions for those who do not comply.”

Non-surgical Cosmetics Procedure Bill: Risk categories

Group 1 – such as microneedling and non-ablative laser treatments – will both require a premises licence and individual practitioner licences issued by local authorities
Group 2 – includes injectables like Botox and dermal fillers – will have to be supervised by a qualified health care professional in a setting regulated by Healthcare Improvement Scotland
Group 3 – includes procedures such as breast and buttock augmentation – will have to be performed by a qualified healthcare professional in a Healthcare Improvement Scotland-regulated setting

‘People are being maimed’

Advice Direct Scotland warned last year that people as young as 15 had sought support about botched Botox and filler treatment.

Overall, 430 people had contacted the consumeradvice.scot website for help over procedures that went wrong, with customers suffering a combined financial loss of £192,000.

Jackie Partridge is a qualified nurse prescriber and has been working with the Scottish Government on the bill.

“We have had deaths from the cosmetics sector, and people are being maimed – people are being butchered, to be honest with you. It’s so important for patient safety that we get this right.

“I think if you want to do this as a livelihood, you need to get the appropriate training in place. So you need to do a healthcare qualification. Then you need experience in the NHS as a healthcare worker, then you need to do a prescriber course.

“The pathway would take probably seven to nine years but it is available. Nobody has been stopped from going into this. If you haven’t got the qualifications, you shouldn’t be doing it.”

The bill passed stage one with cross-party support following debate on Thursday and is now making its way through Holyrood.

Rules around procedures like Botox and filler could be tightened under new legislation STV News

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said while patients are largely women, those working in the sector are also largely women.

He warned that if MSPs “get the balance wrong” on regulations, “skilled and experienced practitioners could be regulated out of their profession altogether”.

Conservative MSP Maurice Golden warned the bill could put 1,800 female-led businesses “to the wall”.

Minto said she did not recognise those numbers.

Jenni Minto, minister for public health and women’s health, told Parliament: “Non-surgical procedures have become increasingly popular but regulation has not kept pace with this growing industry.

“Many people who undergo those procedures are happy with the results and there are many responsible practitioners operating in both the medical and beauty parts of the sector, many people value those procedures.

“This bill is not about restricting access or judging anyone who receives them. However, I have heard a number of powerful accounts of those procedures going wrong, including the tragic death in England of a young mother.

“I am grateful to those who have brought these stories to my attention, including many MSPs in the chamber who have been campaigning on this issue. I present this bill as minister for public health.

“However, as minister for women’s health, I am also very conscious that these stories, these stories of harm, have predominantly affected women, and we must act to minimise the risks of future harms to anyone receiving these procedures.”