The Times cover story highlights patients being put at risk over Botox jabs. Botox ® is a prescription only medicine and should only be prescribed by a registered doctor after a face-to-face consultation. The General Medical Council (GMC) had previously issued guidance on remote prescribing. This was a method where doctors could prescribe medications such as Botox ® to be administered by someone, such as a beautician, without seeing the patient. This practice of remote prescribing should have stopped. The Times article reports that many patients are still being treated by unqualified practitioners often using black market products.
Mr Nassab presented findings of a research article at a previous BAAPS meeting. The aim of his article was to explore who was actually providing non-surgical treatments, such as Botox ® and fillers, and what qualifications they had. The paper was entitled ‘Non-surgical aesthetic treatments: Who’s offering treatments and how qualified are they?’ and is attached below. The research looked at the top 50 websites of providers for ‘anti-wrinkle injections in London.’ We showed that two thirds of treatments were by doctors but 14% of sites did not mention who was administering the treatments. There are a number of recognized associations such as BAAPS and BAPRAS that require members to be fully accredited and follow strict codes of conduct. Our paper found that over half of providers did not mention any association memberships. It was interesting that there were some associations mentioned by some providers that were not well known, had very small memberships or non-existent. The paper also highlighted that only 22% of treatment providers had premises registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The provision of treatments was undertaken in beauty salons and spas in 12% of cases. There were also mobile providers offering home visits and Botox ® parties.
The Times article and our research highlights the lack of regulation in the provision of non-surgical aesthetic treatments such as Botox ® and fillers. If you are considering Botox or filler treatments, always ask about your providers qualifications and make sure they are a member of a well known association such as BAAPS or BAPRAS.
