Regulations for cosmetic procedures 'do not go far enough' to protect patients, surgeons warn

Getty/Aleksandr Rybalko

By Sarah Lowden

Doctors are to be involved in the drawing up of draft regulations to raise the standards of cosmetic surgery and drive out rogue operators.

The government has launched a consultation over new rules aimed at preventing patients facing unnecessary risks from under-qualified practitioners.

It wants doctors, regulators and businesses to have their say over how these procedures should be regulated.

However, surgeons have raised concerns that the proposals "do not go far enough" and risk creating a gap in patient protection between surgical and non-surgical procedures.

Under the new rules, treatments that involve injecting fillers anywhere other than the face, such as Brazilian Butt Lifts (BBLs), would be legally defined as cosmetic surgical procedures – meaning they can only be performing by qualified medics.

Other high-risk treatments such as deep chemical peels and vampire facials – which use microneedling to inject platelets drawn from a patient’s own blood back into the face – would be restricted to doctors, dentists, some nurses, midwives and pharmacists.