Businesses carrying out non-surgical cosmetic procedures, such as chemical peels and Botox injections, must have the correct insurance to protect customers when things go wrong.
The warning comes from not-for-profit campaign organisation APIL (the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) as the Government considers introducing licences for non-surgical cosmetic procedures.
“It is vital that those who carry out these treatments have the right level of insurance so people who are injured can be compensated if these treatments go wrong,” said APIL executive committee member Guy Forster.
Practitioners should have mandatory public liability insurance, as well as treatment risk insurance. This will ensure businesses have the appropriate level of insurance cover to meet a claim if negligent treatment leads to a customer being injured, APIL has told the Department of Health and Social Care.
“At present victims of poor treatment, which can cause serious and sometimes permanent injuries, cannot always secure the redress they need to get their lives back on track because the person or business that carried out the procedure is not insured correctly,” he said.
APIL is also calling for a national register to be created so those who carry out treatments, along with their premises, are licensed. And there should be severe penalties for unlicensed practitioners not on the national register who carried out treatments, it says.
“We see people left with life-changing injuries after a procedure has been botched. They include victims left with severe and permanent scarring to their faces after chemical peels and a person who suffered abscesses and their skin to die after fat injections went wrong,” he said.
“We support a national licensing system for practitioners and premises. Businesses should be inspected before a licence is granted and checks should be made regularly to ensure the public are protected and they can have confidence in their practitioner,” he said.
“All procedures should be restricted to those aged 18 and over, unless a procedure has been approved by a doctor,” he added.