The Scottish Government has pledged to introduce further regulation of non-surgical cosmetic procedures in an effort to protect public safety.

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This comes after the UK Government licensing scheme for aesthetics in England was granted Royal Assent in May.

The new move by the Scottish Government follows a public consultation between January 2020 and June 2020 seeking views about further regulation of non-surgical cosmetic procedures and proposals to introduce a licensing scheme.

The public consultation found that 98% of respondents agreed that further regulation of non-surgical cosmetic procedures was needed, with most of the respondents saying that they felt that non-surgical cosmetic procedures should be conducted by trained, qualified and regulated healthcare professionals.

61% of respondents also agreed that individuals who are not qualified healthcare professionals should be licensed.

In response to these findings the Scottish Government said in a statement, “It is clear from the consultation responses that there is strong public support for further regulation of non-surgical cosmetic procedures that pierce or penetrate the skin. The responses also show support for pharmacists who provide independent services to be regulated by HIS in the same way as other health professionals.”

The government also acknowledged the potential dangers of dermal fillers if administered incorrectly, often leading to long term damage than can only be revered or limited by the urgent administration of specific prescription-only medication.

The Scottish Government said, “We will therefore consider legislation to restrict who can administer dermal fillers, with the aim of protecting public safety. This will include further stakeholder engagement and consultation. We will also consider introducing secondary legislation to bring pharmacists who provide services outside of NHS contracts under the regulation of HIS by adding them to the list of service providers included in the definition of independent clinic in section 10F of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. The public consultation overwhelmingly supported this proposal. “

They added, “Our ultimate goal is to ensure that all non-surgical cosmetic procedures carried out in Scotland are delivered from hygienic premises by appropriately trained practitioners, applying recognised standards and using legitimate products.”

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Article written by Lucy Brown and originally featured here