COSMETIC SURGERY
align it with comparable public health consumer practices in this country. The Keogh Review highlighted three key areas where it considered changes were needed: high quality care with safe products, skilled practitioners and responsible providers; an informed and empowered public to ensure people get accurate advice and that the vulnerable are protected; and, accessible redress and resolution in case things go wrong. Commenting on the latest CSIC
recommendations, Niall Dickson, chief executive of the General Medical Council, said: “Cosmetic surgery patients should feel safe and confident in the hands of their doctor. We are pleased that the Royal College of Surgeons of England is taking this important step to improve patient safety. At the same time, we are working with the college and others to develop a new accreditation scheme which would enable us to approve and show which doctors have the skills needed to carry out cosmetic procedures – but this will require new legislation. Niall Dickson has also stated that later this year the General Medical Council (GMC) will be producing its own guidance that will set out the professional standards it expects from all doctors offering cosmetic treatments. “We will be consulting on this in the summer and expect to publish the guidance by the end of the year,” he said.
Credentialing Following the Keogh Review the Government highlighted credentialing as offering a way to tighten up regulation into poor and unsafe practices across the cosmetic sector. Credentialing is a process which provides formal accreditation of attainment of competences in a defined area of practice, at a level that provides confidence that the individual is fit to practise in that area in the context of effective clinical governance and supervision as appropriate to the credentialed level of practice.
The GMC was identified as leading the development of this work and it has been
APRIL 2015
working closely with the RCS to develop standards intended to lead to the creation of regulated credentials. The GMC believes that credentialing would enable doctors to demonstrate their competences in particular areas of medicine, including cosmetic surgery, through a system of accreditation, and have this reflected on the GMC’s registers. It is believed that credentialing could help to meet a number of different needs. It could provide a framework of standards and accreditation in areas where regulation is weak or non-existent; give better recognition of doctors’ competences; improve workforce flexibility and professional mobility; and improve the information available to patients and the public about doctors’ areas of competence. However, the GMC highlights that the primary purpose for introducing regulation of credentialing must be to enhance patient protection. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has recently condemned a host of Valentine’s day- themed cosmetic surgery marketing promotions which it says demonstrate that, despite the findings of the Keogh Review, much of the aesthetic sector is still not following the recommendations for best practice. Rajiv Grover, consultant plastic
surgeon and former BAAPS president, said:“If, despite Government directives, providers can continue to advertise time-sensitive deals and prizes for what should be deemed as medical treatments, what message does that send about our sector? Nothing to see here folks, no need to be concerned with guidelines for best practice – since no one will face consequences.”
BAAPS therefore welcomes the CSIC
recommendations as a step in the right direction. Rajiv Grover continues: “Both myself and current president, Michael Cadier, were involved in the creation of the recommendations, as BAAPS has been campaigning for these changes over the last decade. “However, this will only protect the public if the recommendations are mandatory and policed. It is essential that the public know who to go to when seeking a qualified cosmetic surgeon, but also, to be assured that the quality of their outcome will meet accepted standards, and particularly to meet their own expectations. The collection of outcome data from individual surgeons is something unique to BAAPS, which the Association has championed over the last ten years, and in order to maintain and raise standards, it is essential that this level of scrutiny is applied to all surgeons in the cosmetic sector.”
Welcoming the proposals The British Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) also welcomes the CSIC proposals to introduce a certification scheme for cosmetic surgery providers operating in public and private practice with a view to better protecting cosmetic surgery patients. Nigel Mercer, president of BAPRAS,
said: “We are delighted to see that all surgeons working in cosmetic surgery will have to be not only listed on the GMC’s specialist register but also only allowed to operate within that area of training. We are pleased to see that the surgeon must prove they are adequately trained in the procedures they wish to perform and on the
Two million people in the UK are considering undergoing cosmetic surgery in the next year – yet 24% of patients do not check the credentials of their surgeon.
THE CLINICAL SERVICES JOURNAL 27
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