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Ministers drop plan to regulate UK cosmetic clinics |
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Monday, 19 February 2007 |
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UK Ministers have rejected calls made by an expert body for cosmetic clinics in Britain to be officially licensed.
Despite growing concern over the number of outlets in Britain that are providing Botox and collagen treatments, health ministers are expected to announce that these facilities will not be licensed, and instead will aim to make many areas of the cosmetic treatment industry subject to self-regulation. However, facilities providing more invasive cosmetic treatments will be subject to licensing and inspection by the UK's Healthcare Commission.
The UK's Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, had been arguing for the provision of non-surgical treatment such as Botox to be subject to the same regulations as facilities providing more invasive procedures, such as liposuction or breast augmentation. Ministers, however, are understood to be wary of increasing the amount of red tape faced by businesses and were sensitive to claims by medical staff that such regulations would increase the burdens on them, without sufficient justification. Ministers are said to have judged that the number of failed procedures arising out of non-surgical treatments did not justify the increase in bureaucracy that would accompany new licensing regulations.
While sources close to ministers say that the matter has been resolved and the decision has been taken, the Department of Health is being tight-lipped about any official announcement. A spokesman for the DoH said: "The DoH is still considering the form of regulation that would provide the best approach for both treatment providers and their patients and will publish further information in due course."
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