Health inspectors are to crack down on beauty clinics in England after evidence emerged that women are being disfigured by rogue operators offering improperly administered laser therapy, Botox injections and anti-wrinkle skin fillers, the Guardian can reveal.
The Healthcare Commission will conduct covert surveillance to monitor the 3,000 unregistered clinics that use lasers and intense pulsed lights to remove facial hair and blemishes on the skin. Using powers approved by parliament last week, the commission will send in mystery shoppers to check whether the clinics are trading unlawfully by offering services without any official check on safety standards. Offenders will be warned and prosecuted if they do not register.
The commission is also concerned about a further 3,000 hairdressers, nail bars and backstreet operators who provide Botox injections and cosmetic skin fillers to even out wrinkles. Under current law, these operators have no obligation to register, but the Department of Health is understood to be considering regulations to control them. It has evidence that materials being used as permanent skin fillers can destroy cells around the lips and eyes, causing permanent disfigurement.
Kate Lobley, the commission's head of operations, said last night: "There are too many people providing healthcare services who are operating outside the law and we have to do something about that. People should steer clear of clinics and doctors who are operating illegally." The commission receives about 50 complaints a year from people who have been damaged by laser or intense pulsed lights, about 10% of its private sector caseload.
Paul Stapleton, director of Mapperley Park, a registered cosmetic clinic in Nottingham, said it treated about 10 patients a week who needed to correct damage done elsewhere by cowboy operators using lasers, injections and fillers.
"We must tackle the problem of mobile therapists who can travel the country with lasers in the back of their cars, going into people's homes to treat them with no regulatory control at all," he said. "Any nail bar or beauty salon can also hire a doctor or nurse to come in to inject prescribed chemicals into the skin without bothering to comply with rules." Mr Stapleton said faulty Botox injections could paralyse the wrong muscles. Although this caused patients distress, the effects tended to wear off. Treatments involving permanent cosmetic fillers can do more disastrous damage if chemicals are injected into the wrong place. This can cause tissue necrosis that kills facial cells.
The first stage of the crackdown was revealed yesterday by Hospital Doctor magazine. It said Yellow Pages directories has decided to stop accepting advertisements from unregulated clinics. The commission said the next stage would be to drive out unregistered practitioners from Harley Street and Marylebone, in London, the centre of Britain's cosmetic surgery industry. It will ask property owners not to let premises without proof of registration. A spokesman said it would also ask insurance companies to make it harder for the unregistered to get cover.
Ms Lobley said patients should ask to see a certificate of registration if they visited an independent hospital, clinic or laser salon. The commission is to produce a leaflet for patients considering cosmetic surgery to help them reduce risks. It will warn that non-surgical procedures are not yet regulated and there is a risk that people carrying them out are unqualified.
"We need to make sure these people are not compromising the safety of their clients," she added.
Avoiding the pitfalls
Going under the knife
Clinics offering cosmetic surgery such as liposuction and tummy tucks should be registered with the Healthcare Commission. The official advice is to demand to see the clinic's certificate of registration with the commission and check the annual inspection report on its website.
Laser therapy
Beauty clinics offering laser treatment to burn off blemishes or facial hair should also be registered, but until now the commission's powers of enforcement have been weak. Customers should demand to see the registration certificate and go elsewhere if one is not available. Mistakes can lead to burns and scarring.
Botox injections and skin fillers
People have less protection from rogue operators offering these treatments. They do not have to register except when using prescribed products. The commission advises customers to ask the healthcare professional if they are qualified in the procedure and not to be pressured into having treatment immediately.
