There is little argument about the need to tighten up regulations surrounding dermal fillers. Currently, they can be administered by anybody with no medical training.
The need to create better management of the industry has been highlighted in several reports over the last year or so.
Yesterday, the government issued its Response to the Review of the Regulation of Cosmetic Interventions.
The report agrees with the need for better regulation of non-surgical interventions, which now account for 9 times the number of cosmetic surgery procedures.
However, while the government supported the view that fillers should be made prescription only (like botox) it was unable to at the present time as its hands were tied at EU level.
This announcement has met with disappointment and criticism from leading industry bodies such as BAAPS (The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons), Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA) and The British Association of Dermatologists.
Health minister Dan Poulter explained:
‘EU legislation states fillers are not a medicine, so we cannot reclassify them. Instead we want to protect patients with new laws so anyone injecting fillers must be qualified and overseen by a doctor or other appropriate health professional who must see the patient to discuss treatment.’
Leading skin care company SkinViva recommend that patients looking for dermal fillers should choose a qualified practitioner.
At SkinViva, all cosmetic injections including dermal fillers and botox are carried out by doctors who have undergone additional specialist training in non-surgical skin treatments. The team is led by Dr Tim Pearce, who has many years experience in the industry and set up his own training school SkinViva Training alongside SkinViva, which he founded in 2008.
