Medicetics

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Botox regulations tighten

Party’s over for botox. Evening Standard 9 December 2008

PATIENTS undergoing Botox treatments must be checked by a doctor from today under guidelines designed to target “cowboys”. It is now illegal to have botox in a clinic in London or anywhere in the UK unless by a Doctor.

The new prescribing rules for the anti-wrinkle treatment also ban “Botox parties”, and prevent GPs and other Doctors giving nurses or beauticians the right to administer the injection to anyone they choose.

Consumer groups have highlighted problems with untrained people injecting the substance at beauty events.

Watchdog Which? has warned about Botox parties being advertised over the internet. In one case, a former nurse was found to be organising parties on eBay and injecting clients who were drunk writes Sophie Goodchild in the Evening Standard.

Medicetics comment

The General Medical Council, the body responsible for regulating Doctors practices have just released the latest “Good Practice to Prescribing Medicine 2008″ which is the guidelines that all Doctors must adhere to.

At Medicetics we have always believed that all our patients are seen and treated by fully qualified Doctors. Botox is a powerful drug and must be administered with proper care in the correct environment to fully informed and consented patients.

The new guidelines cover patients that are treated by nurses or other healthcare professionals without having seen a Doctor and be given specific instructions in how and where to use such products as botox.

“…. the administration of medicines (such as Botox®, Vistabel® or Dysport®) to paralyse muscles which cause wrinkles requires assessment of individual patients’ suitability and (in the event that administration is delegated to a nurse or other person) patient specific directions; general directions which would apply to any patient with an appointment on a particular day are not sufficient…”

Read the full 2008 GMC prescribing guidelines

Click for the full Evening Standard Article