Keir Starmer admits extra must be carried out to sort out cowboy beauty surgical procedure in UK
Keir Starmer has praised the Mirror’s campaign to put an end to cowboy cosmetic surgery in Britain.
The Prime Minister said it was vital to get to grips with unregulated high-street salons and clinics that are putting lives at risk with dodgy procedures. He admitted more needs to be done and said the Health Secretary is currently looking into the issue.
On Monday Mr Starmer said: “You’re running a campaign on this and it is a really important issue. And as you know Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, is looking at this because clearly, we need to look at what more can be done in some of those cases so thank you for highlighting that.”
Mr Streeting has previously thrown his weight behind our bid to end the “wild west in cosmetic surgery”. The Cabinet minister said he wants to “make sure we take action” as he said he’ll look at our campaign’s demands to crackdown on unregulated high-street salons and clinics.
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Speaking to the Mirror in December Mr Streeting warned the public to think twice if they see an “offer that looks too good to be true”. Asked about the Mirror’s cosmetic surgery campaign, he said: “I think it’s great to see the Mirror campaigning on this issue.
“I am worried about the wild west in cosmetic surgery, not just overseas with some horror stories we’ve had from people coming back and the NHS picking up the pieces, but also here at home. We’ve got a lot more to do on this.”
In September Alice Webb, 33, became the first person to die following a liquid BBL in a UK clinic. Alice’s partner, campaign group Save Face and the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons are joining us in demanding action to stop devastating cosmetic procedures in Britain.
The Royal College of Surgeons has warned that cosmetic procedures must be regulated “as soon as possible before there is another death”. It is feared there could be between 100,000 and 200,000 “aesthetic practitioners” operating in High Streets and from homes around the country. The exact number is unknown.
All doctors performing cosmetic surgery in the UK must be registered with and licensed to practice by the General Medical Council. But issues have risen after a surge in non-surgical procedures such as Botox, anti-wrinkle injections and dermal fillers carried out by private providers. Current regulation places few restrictions on who can perform such procedures.
The Mirror’s three cosmetic demands
1. Cosmetic operations such as liposuction, surgical face lifts and surgical eye lifts, should only be carried out by properly trained surgeons on the General Medical Council specialist register. These surgeons should have UK Board Certification in Cosmetic Surgery for their area of practice.
2. All operations and high risk procedures must be surgically safeand carried out in clinics and hospitals inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
3. Make it a legal requirement for beauty clinics who offer non-surgical interventions to have malpractice insurance.
The Mirror is demanding that all beauty clinics offering potentially dangerous procedures, including ‘high risk’ treatments such as BBLs, liposuction, surgical facelifts and surgical eye lifts, are licensed by the Quality Care Commission. Our campaign also calls for all procedures to be surgically safe and carried out only by fully trained medical professionals, as well as for it to be made a legal requirement for practitioners who offer non-surgical interventions to have malpractice insurance.
Under the Tories, a consultation on licensing cosmetic procedures ran from September to October last year yet no action has been taken since. Health minister Karin Smyth said in October the Labour government is “currently considering what steps may need to be taken in relation to the safety of the non-surgical cosmetics sector”.
