Hansard

I thank Stuart McMillan for bringing to the chamber his motion regarding the lack of regulation in the medical aesthetics industry in Scotland. That is a matter of growing concern to me and my constituents, because, all too often, it results in disfigurement and mutilation, mainly of women.

The lack of regulation in the medical aesthetics industry is worrying. It is a rapidly growing sector, with individuals seeking procedures ranging from minimally invasive treatments to major surgical interventions. Even more worryingly, that demand has been accompanied by an alarming rise in the number of unlicensed practitioners, which raises health risks for patients. The lack of adequate regulations poses significant risks to public health and safety.

Bizarrely, only private clinics that employ a regulated healthcare professional who provides a service are regulated. Although some such treatments are performed by qualified healthcare professionals, such as doctors, dentists and nurses, others are administered by people with little or no formal medical training. That extraordinary approach leaves too much room for high-risk cosmetic procedures being carried out by non-regulated, untrained and unskilled practitioners in unregulated premises, which too often leads to patients suffering significant physical and psychological harm.

It alarms me that, for example, anybody in the chamber could take part in an unregulated and often dubious training course and then perform medical procedures on the public. That should serve as a call to action for everybody in the chamber. We need to stop this shambles as soon as possible.

Unregulated clinics do not need to follow the same rigorous health and safety processes as regulated health professionals, which can lead to incidents involving the use of counterfeit products or even the sharing of products with different clients, risking the spread of blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis. That poses a significant health risk to the public, but the lack of regulation is also unfair on the regulated businesses that carry out procedures safely. Reaching high standards comes at a cost, while other businesses are undercutting the competition by risking their patients’ health.

Thankfully, for those who have suffered from botched cosmetic surgery, our NHS is there to help. However, that help comes at a cost at a time when the health service is already under strain. Research from Save Face, a Government-approved register of medical aesthetic treatments, found that, in the case of the 96 per cent of patients who had had complications after cosmetic surgery and were then treated by the NHS, 100 per cent of the failed treatments had been carried out by untrained and unskilled staff. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons estimates that a botched Brazilian butt lift costs the NHS an average of £15,000.

Recent media reports have highlighted cases of botched procedures that have caused permanent damage to people’s faces and bodies. Some individuals have suffered infections, disfigurement and even life-threatening complications. However, in many instances, those who are responsible for performing such procedures face few or no consequences, due to the lack of clear regulation and accountability in the industry.

Other UK nations have already made moves towards regulating the industry, and, if we do not follow their lead, we risk patients border hopping to receive cheap and dangerous procedures in Scotland. We cannot allow that situation to continue. The safety and wellbeing of the public should be of paramount importance, and I therefore welcome the Scottish Government’s planned consultation and hope that we can act on its recommendations as soon as possible to reduce the risk of harm, and before we lose lives.

We must create a framework that protects both practitioners and patients by ensuring a safe and professional aesthetics industry in Scotland. We need to protect our women and our men from unscrupulous exploitation by unqualified and unregulated practitioners.