Keogh Review calls for qualifications for non-invasive treatments including Botox and dermal fillers

Initial findings from the Keogh Review, the committee set up to investigate the aesthetic medicine industry and its standards, have been released, the results of which show the need for greater regulation for the industry, particularly where non-invasive procedures are concerned.

Currently there is no law or industry regulation that makes qualifications to administer non-invasive procedures mandatory and this review is set to change that. It was also expected that only medical professionals (doctors, nurses and dentists) would be able to carry out the procedures however that tenet has so far not been decided upon.

In a burgeoning and ever-growing industry it’s important that standards are met and introducing regulation is one way of ensuring this will happen. It also provides the patient with an extra degree of trust and certainty, and offers better protection if things go wrong. On discussing these finding Sir Bruce Keogh said:

“All too often we hear of cases that shine a light on poor practices in the cosmetic surgery industry. I am concerned that some practitioners who are giving non-surgical treatments may not have had any appropriate training whatsoever. This leaves people exposed to unreasonable risks, and possibly permanent damage.

“Our research has shown that the public expect procedures that are so widely available to be safe, whereas they are largely unregulated.

“There is a clear need for better quality, recognised training for the people performing these operations. My review will make a number of recommendations for making sure people who choose to undergo these procedures are in safe hands.”

The review committee has also been examining possible regulation of industry advertising and how treatments and procedures are sold. This includes bulk and time-restricted deals, which encourage the patient (or customer) to buy quickly or more than they need.

BAAPS president Rajiv Grover welcomes these initial findings:

“We agree that specialised training is required and [it should be] certainly more extensive than the many widely-promoted weekend courses currently available, but aesthetic injectibles should only ever be provided by medical professionals.”

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Botox can help athletes overcome vocal chord condition

A relatively common condition for athletes can often be misdiagnosed as asthma, but if detected can be treated easily enough through a combination of treatments including Botox for the vocal chords. Although it can be brought about by stress or anxiety it is also commonly linked to increased physical exertion, hence why athletes can be at increased risk of suffering from it.

It’s believed an estimated 5% of professional athletes suffer from Paradoxical Vocal Fold Motion Disorder (PVFMD) which constricts the vocal chords and can impact the ability to breathe. It also causes coughing whilst exercising and because of these symptoms, which are very similar to those caused by asthma, it can often be missed therefore remain untreated.

The two conditions are in fact often linked – 40% of asthma sufferers will also have PVFMD. What will quite regularly happen is the asthma will be detected and treated but the PVFMD won’t be, in which case the athlete will still suffer from its symptoms.

When it is diagnosed correctly treatment will usually consist of multiple solutions. These will likely include vocal chord retraining therapy and also Botox, carried out by various professionals. An ENT specialist with Botox training would be required, as well as a vocal chord therapist and possibly also a sports psychologist who would deal with the impact it has mentally.

Non-athletes who suddenly take up an increased exercise programme can also suffer from the condition.

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Botox and Filler Training: Movements in the News?

Recently in the press, the issue of Botox and Filler training and who can be trained has come to light. Due to legislation only medically trained professionals are able to teach but also learn how to inject Botox and fillers.

At Cosmetic Courses we only offer our training to medical professionals – our delegates being a mixture of Doctors, Dentists and Nurses. Our delegates have to be medically qualified and registered with one of the following: General Medical Council, General Dental Council or Nursing and Midwifery Council. This ensures that our delegates are fully licensed to practise within the UK.

In one case an untrained man has been caught teaching Botox and Fillers to beauty therapists, who cannot legally participate in these courses as they lack the required medical qualifications. The man training the beauty therapists was sentenced to time in prison due to the severity of his actions.

This is unfortunate for those trained by him, as they naturally believed the certificate he provided was authentic and allowed them to practise. However, as any respected  non-surgical training provider will know, beauty therapists are not allowed to perform Botox and Dermal Filler treatments.

Therefore it is essential that at Cosmetic Courses we offer our training to the correct delegates. We are CPD certificated as well as having a working partnership with Hamilton Fraser, our insurance company, to ensure this.

Through training with Cosmetic Courses you get the security that our highly trained professional team are there for continued support, from helping you when you start your new career choice to the finer details that may occur throughout your career.

Furthermore, all our trainers are experienced and registered with the relevant medical governing bodies, so they are fully qualified to teach and perform Botox and Filler treatment in line with the regulations and legislations currently in place in the UK.

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Doctors to be prevented from prescribing Botulinum Toxin remotely

In a secret recording by the BBC at a Harley Street skin clinic, the clinic’s director was filmed describing how prescriptions for Botulinum Toxin could be obtained in the names of friends and family. The drug would then be stored, ready to be used by nurses to treat walk-in patients without needing to obtain a prescription first.

The nurses would instead telephone the doctor for a remote prescription before injecting patients with the ‘stored’ Botox.

If, for any reason, the doctor could not be reached before treatment, the nurses would administer the Botox injections anyway – with the doctor phoning patients afterwards.

Though remote prescription is not illegal at present, administering Botox without a prescription is against the law. It also raises concerns about patient safety.

In the light of the investigation, the General Medical Council (GMC) has said that new rules will soon be published, making it illegal for doctors to remotely prescribe injectable cosmetic medicines, including Botox.

Nurses who do not hold the V300 prescribing qualification will be required to work directly with a doctor or dentist in order to issue prescriptions.

If you would like any information on our Botox training courses, or any of our other fully accredited courses, contact us on 0845 230 4110 or email [email protected].

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Ceart in Administration: Medical Aesthetic Insurance Options

Ceart in Administration? Please Advise

As you may be aware by now, the specialist healthcare insurance broker Ceart Risk Services has gone into administration.

If you do have a policy with Ceart, it is best to try to contact them to find out your options as, technically, you should be OK if already covered.

Hamilton Fraser Insurance help worried Medical Aesthetic delegates

According to reports, however, they are not responding to many enquiries via telephone or email. For many confused and anxious medical aesthetic delegates, alternative cosmetic insurers Hamilton Fraser Cosmetic Insurance have stepped in to offer advice and support; even for those who are not currently insured with them.

Hamilton Fraser ran a live Questions and Answers session on their Facebook page this Tuesday 7th February to deal with the unusually high level of enquiries and concerns. Many of the answers can now be seen posted on their page.

Cosmetic Insurance at Cosmetic Courses

At Cosmetic Courses medical aesthetic training, we have always chosen Hamilton Fraser as our principal insurance company, displaying the logo on our homepage and recommending them to our delegates when they ask us who to turn to for their own business insurance.

We are very proud to be one of only 4 recognised Hamilton Fraser Partner Courses (you can identify these by the gold ‘training course partner’ badges as featured on our site which differs from the standard Hamilton Fraser recognised training course icons).

What does this mean?

  • Well, the biggest bonus for you is that all our delegates receive 10% discount during their 1st year of insurance with Hamilton Fraser…something that only these special Training Course Partners can offer!
  • You can also find us right at the top of the recommended course listings on the Hamilton Fraser website (for London, Buckinghamshire and Northampton)
  • And read regular articles about us in the Cosmetic Insurance News Letter
  • Like all Hamilton Fraser recognised training courses, Cosmetic Courses’ membership means that our delegates receive Risk Management support and information leaflets, presentations and advice.

It is this kind of unconditional support which we know medical aesthetic delegates are really valuing at the moment, with uncertainty over Ceart and increased scrutiny of the industry in general. It’s good to know that there is an insurance company we can rely on, who recognizes Cosmetic Courses’ high standards too!

For any further questions about your cosmetic insurance or medical aesthetic training in general, please do not hesitate to call us on 0845 230 4110.

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Cosmetic Courses & Competency Certification

As the medical aesthetic industry comes under scrutiny, Cosmetic Courses supports calls for higher competency levels.

Botox and Dermal Filler Providers Under Fire

Not only the Surgical sector of the cosmetic treatment industry has come under scrutiny recently following the PIP breast implants fiasco. The Non-Surgical cosmetic injectables market is now also being heavily criticized for lack of regulation and the ease with which products / procedures can launch or professionals can become qualified.

The UK has been described as “an open goal when it comes to cosmetic injections”, with companies starting up and disappearing at the first sign of trouble and a “terrible…lack of training” (Dr. Mike Comins, president of the British Association of Cosmetic Doctors).

Dr. Comins has particularly stressed the importance of competence and for “only medical doctors, their assistants or supervised nurses [to] be allowed to carry out injections of Botox and fillers”.

Cosmetic Courses support Competency & Training for Medical Professionals

These are views which leading UK medical aesthetic training provider, Cosmetic Courses, has long upheld. Even before the PIP scandal hit the media, we were championing rigorous standards within cosmetic injectables training and had a strict policy of only accepting currently qualified medical professionals onto our courses.

Test the Water: then Commit to Competency

We understand that branching into a career in medical aesthetics can be a big commitment, so we do believe that delegates should be given opportunity for ‘taster’ training sessions where they do not have to invest so much money or long-term career aspirations up-front: some people do literally start aesthetic injecting and decide then and there it’s not for them.

Bespoke 1-1 for Competency Certification
But, if a delegate does then decide that they want to pursue a career in cosmetic injectables, we strongly encourage all training with Cosmetic Courses to continue to Bespoke 1-1 level which is the stage where you can be certified in competency. This is in line with the recommendation by the BACD and Mike Comins.

Training DOESN’T end with Competency
Furthermore, Cosmetic Courses always say that your training is a journey. Even having received Competency Certification, many delegates do decide to continue to Advanced Level and we positively encourage this. As Dr. Comins continues: BACD members ‘also have to attend a certain number of conferences and training sessions to maintain their membership’. Our own Cosmetic Courses trainers frequently do this, attending regular events, training sessions and conferences to keep up-to-date with all the latest products and techniques.

Keeping up-to-date is vital in this fast paced industry. This is why Cosmetic Courses believe that Competency Certification and Refresher Training go hand-in-hand. Although many delegates may have already been competency certified, this may have been years ago any they might not have done anything with it ever since. In that time, techniques and products will have moved on. The best practitioners keep up to date with regular training and activity: and Cosmetic Courses encourage all our delegates to be the best.

Our Commitment to You
As Cosmetic Courses’ manager recognized, we do not only expect our delegates to be the best they can be but we also expect the same from ourselves. As part of this ‘we are offering more courses and expanding our packages on an ongoing basis to ensure not just that you keep up but that we keep up’.

Cosmetic Courses also offer a support program so that all delegates are never essentially ‘alone’ after graduating from Cosmetic Courses. Despite being certified competent, if you ever need support or advice after having trained with Cosmetic Courses there is ongoing mentor support via telephone or email.

In all these ways we hope to be able to help do our part to regulate the standards within the industry.

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All I want for Christmas is…Botox?

Christmas Botox is First on the Wishlist for 2011

According to the ABC, Botox is one of the cosmetic procedures right at the top of many women’s wishlists this Christmas. It certainly makes a change from underwear that doesn’t quite fit and endless cookery books. So whats the craze with Christmas Botox?

For those of us in the medical aesthetics industry, this is good news. It means that at that time of year when women draw up their fantasy list of “must have” items, your trade commodity is right up there with coveted perfumes and indulgent chocolates.

Why Do So Many Women Want Botox?

But what is the psychology behind the Botox boom?

One recurring theory is that the gloomy economic climate is causing a growing taste for wrinkle-reducing treatments. It may sound odd at first that, as the purse strings tighten, splashing out on beauty procedures becomes a must. But the logic is actually sound: more financial stress causes more wrinkles and signs of aging and a stronger need to do something about this. Perhaps also, with all the gloom and doom in the rest of the world, ladies are feeling they owe it to themselves to at least take care of the one thing they have complete control over: their appearance.

Whilst other areas of cosmetic surgery have had to up the marketing to drive in customers throughout the recession, the non-surgical industry is booming. This looks set to continue in 2012.

So, whether you are an excited lady waiting by the Christmas Tree tomorrow to see if your wrinkle-reducing treatment voucher is waiting in that shiny envelope; or a highly skilled medical professional thinking about diverting your career into medical aesthetics with a Botox training course next year: have a fantastic Christmas and an even better 2012!

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New GDC Rules about Dentists, Botox and Remote Prescribing

Falling inline with the General Medical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the GDC have now issued guidelines against remote prescribing of Botox by dentists.

In fact, the statement issued in October forebade remote prescribing for the provision of non-surgical cosmetic procedures in any form. The prescription or administration of Botox or injectable cosmetic medicinal products falls under this category.

Until this stage, whilst reputable organisations and training centres like Cosmetic Courses would have generally advised against dentists becoming involved in such practices, there was grey area as to whether their counselling body specifically ruled against remote prescribing or not.

As such, concerns had arisen that some registrants may be using remote prescribing inappropriately. There have also been reports of networks of dental clinics which have started offering aesthetic treatments (Botox and dermal fillers etc.) with aesthetic nurses obtaining their product under the remote prescription of particular dentists: this will now have to be re-evaluated as all patients being treated with the product require consultation with the actual practitioner providing the prescription.

If you need advice about remote prescribing, your eligibility to obtain product after training or about Botox training in general, Cosmetic Courses will be delighted to help. We have a number of Botox training courses for dentists and can advise about how the GDC announcement may effect you and your clinic. Simply call 0845 230 4110.

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Botox Sales & Botox Training Courses in UK Economic Crisis – The Outlook is Good!

Positive Prospects for those looking to Botox Training

Article by Sarah Brechon (Cosmetic Courses)

As the Financial Times announce a rapid increase in Botox sales in Europe,  Botox training courses at Cosmetic Courses have also risen throughout the year. These encouraging statistics (illustrated by the graph on the left) show that, despite the continuing economic crisis, all is not doom and gloom in the world of aesthetic medicine.

This is very positive news for medical professionals considering botox training as an option for their futures.

But surely the findings are also surprising: why would people be turning to aesthetic treatments at a time when many are having to make cuts on their weekly food shop and worrying about fuel or home expenses?  In a statement to the Financial Times, chief executive David Pyott of Botox manufacturer Allergan revealed that beauty is so deeply embedded into the culture of today’s Europeans that many would prefer to make sacrifices in other areas (even those many would consider everyday necessities) than give up their Botox habit.

Whatever the reasoning, this is undoubtedly good news for aesthetic medical professionals considering their employment options. At leading UK aesthetic training provider Cosmetic Courses, numbers of delegates booking onto the foundation level Botox training course have been on a steady increase all year. This introductory level Botox training course is the first step for medical professionals looking to begin their medical aesthetic career before going on to the Advanced Level training (Fillers and more complex Botox techniques), tailored 1-1 modules or courses in other aesthetic methods like Dermaroller Therapy or Skin Peels.

Asked why she thinks so many medical professionals have entered medical aesthetic training in 2011, despite the economic crisis, Cosmetic Courses manager Rachael Langford replied:

“They’re worried about the current problems in the NHS. One woman we spoke to yesterday  wants to start her family in 2 or 3 years but her current medical career wouldn’t allow for it. She felt that doing Botox training alongside would give her the option. Similarly, people coming up to retirement want to do Botox training to ease up their normal hours in the NHS. Working ridiculously long hours to rigid schedules can be far more draining than any economic crisis – Botox training can provide the chance of a better quality of life with more time to do what you want around your working hours.”

Registered medical professionals from all over the world can come and train with leading UK Botox training providers Cosmetic Courses. As well as Botox training, Cosmetic Courses provide a wide range of other courses (including Dermal Fillers, Genuine Dermaroller Therapy, Skin Peels, 1-1 Tailored Tuition and more).  You can book your training course online using our secure form and payment system or call 0845 230 4110.

For more information, please visit www.cosmeticcourses.co.uk or email [email protected]

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