Territory War – Who should be injecting Botox?

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Territory war

Beauty Therapists Challenge IHAS Over Who Should be Allowed to Inject Botox & Dermal Fillers

Posted on 17/03/2011 by S Rani

This week we have seen well and truly laid down between the aesthetic (beauty) therapists and the medical fraternity (doctors, dentists and nurses) when it comes to who should and shouldn’t be allowed to inject the general public with cosmetic injectable products including dermal fillers and botulinum toxins. The debate has now been thrown wide open.

The Cosmetic Treatments and Injectables Association (CTIA), formed this month by its Chairman Molly Hanson-Steel, has openly set out to challenge the Independent Healthcare Advisory Services (IHAS) and its Treatments You Can Trust Register which excludes practitioners who aren’t doctors, dentists or registered nurses from its government backed quality assurance accreditation scheme for cosmetic injectable providers. The argument is a fair point But how will CTIA   justify that non- professionals can do professionals’ job?

Plastic surgeons and dermatologists initially were concerned, (and some still are), with doctors from other specialities being involved in cosmetic injectables, and some doctors are not supportive of dentists or nurse prescribers using these treatments. There are also heated debates going on amongst nurses as to whether non-nurse prescribers should be involved in injectable cosmetics, with the NMC certainly not being supportive of non-independent nurse prescribers using prescription cosmetic injectables.

However, in recent years the debate has entered an entirely different level with some beauty therapists now trying to validate their claims to the use of a prescription medicine (botulinum toxin) and dermal fillers for cosmetic rejuvenation.

Speaking about the formation of CTIA, Molly Hanson-Steel said; “More and more bad press about injectable administrators is hitting the headlines because of malpractice and/or incompetent procedures by non- professionalsThe wrong perception   created among the consumers that the Cosmetic Industry Practitioners are the perpetrators of this bad practice when in reality this is not the truth. The CTIA intend/claim to provide a clear structure to raise safe practice and standards in the cosmetic injectables industry. We will promote quality assurance through inspection, training and external audit. Our procedures will result in promoting safer practices for the client and awareness of our sector to the public. We do not agree with a registration system without inspection”. Hence, an inspectorate body has also been set up known as the Cosmetic Dermal Botulinum & Fillers Inspectorate (cdBAFI). They state on their website that; “we do not feel that if you are a dentist, doctor or nurse that automatically enables you to perform this type of non-surgical cosmetic treatment at the exclusion of the cosmetic industry professionals practicing in this area.  We want ALL practitioners inspected to enable the consumer a choice.”

Stuart Naisbett, Director of Inspection at cdBAFI also said recently; “We created the Inspectorate on behalf of the consumer…not the medical profession or the Cosmetic Industry. We are an independent Inspectorate that wants to assure the consumer that the injectables practitioner that they choose to perform their treatment has been inspected to the same industry standard.” CDBAFI are working with the CTIA to introduce new training standards for cosmetic injectables and also claim that they would be happy to also work with IHAS to introduce a generic standard for all. They intend to evaluate both the people and the organisations involved in the provision of cosmetic injectables.

To further highlight their cause, CTIA along with the British Association of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology (BABTAC) and cdBAFI, formed a delegation to visit the Department of Health and meet with the current Health Minister, Simon Burns regarding the regulation of cosmetic injectable treatments. In particular they wanted to discuss the implied exclusion of beauty therapists and other cosmetic industry participants from practicing within this marketplace due to their exclusion from the IHAS shared regulation scheme, which was granted funds from the previous government for the development and promotion to the public of a register of accredited cosmetic injectable providers.

The delegation is said to have highlighted its concerns to the Minister about what they believe is an unlevel playing field in the area of non-surgical injectable beauty treatments.

Now we wait for the conclusion drawn by the various regulatory bodies in consultation with the health department.

For your information you (our valued clients) are in safe hands at Derby Skin Laser & Cosmetic Clinic.

Please let us know your views on the above on info@derbyskinlaserclinic.co.uk.

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