Reports of unregulated procedures taking place in public toilets and hotel rooms
Unregulated cosmetic procedures are taking place in ‘pop up’ shops on high streets, in public toilets and hotel rooms, according to a warning from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI).
The CTSI, which supports the UK’s trading standards profession, has this week called on the government to take urgent action over unregulated treatments being given in unlicensed premises and by unqualified practitioners.
It is calling for regulation to clamp down on providers of aesthetic procedures such as fat injections, Brazilian Butt Lifts, Botox and fillers – warning the public that there is a ‘Wild West of untrained, unlicensed and uninsured individuals who may be putting lives in danger’.
The concerns come as the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) has launched an inquiry into the effectiveness of current regulations covering surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures.
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Members of the CTSI have warned of ‘shocking locations’ where cosmetic procedures such as fillers are being administered, including ‘pop up’ shops on high streets, cubicles in public toilets and hotel rooms.
‘These locations fall outside of typical business premises and makes taking action against unscrupulous businesses and practitioners much more difficult,’ the CTSI said.
It also suggested that with the growing popularity of regulated weight-loss medications, it was concerned about some fat dissolving injections which do not fall under the remit of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Other issues reported by members included ‘unsafe and unregulated filler products readily available for sale online to everyday consumers for as little as £20’ and a ‘postcode lottery across the UK in the minimum ages at which such procedures can be carried out’.
The CTSI suggested there were ‘major gaps in regulation’ and a ‘lack of clarity on who is responsible’ for products and procedures, and that there was ‘no collation’ of data that showed the burden placed on services dealing with any complications from these products.
The institute is now working with a coalition of national charities, urging the government to ‘get a grip with these issues before more lives are put at risk’.
And it is calling for a licensing scheme to help regulate the sector, the establishment of a ministerial led government task force, extension of underage legislation to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and removal of unsafe products sold online.
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The regulator also said it had ‘recently taken statutory enforcement action against some registered pharmacies supplying medicines that have been prescribed by prescribers working for unregulated online platforms’.
Richard Knight, CTSI lead officer for cosmetics and beauty, said: ‘Trading Standards have warned that in most cases the products and services in the aesthetics injectable sector are unregulated.
‘Because of the big gap between the lack of hard and fast safety rules, and consumer expectations of their protection under the law, we are gathering evidence of harms to the public as part of a joint initiative to urge law-makers to adopt a cross-government approach to tackling this Wild West situation.’
One practice nurse, La Toya de Freitas, described how GPNs were seeing ‘a lot’ of patients who need support after they have undergone surgeries overseas.
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A version of this article was originally published by our sister title The Pharmacist
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