Botox injections have been glamourised in reality TV programmes like The Only Way Is Essex. At adam we don’t necessarily have a problem with that…as long as patients are protected from unnecessary or inappropriate cosmetic interventions by the clinician they’ve asked to treat them.

Most patients who contact our Stockport clinic are suitable for botox or dermal fillers, but occasionally we’ve declined to treat someone. This can be for various reasons — they might be too young or have an issue that won’t be solved by having one of our treatments.

There are, however, maverick or ‘cowboy’ practitioners who are happy to treat anyone who comes to their clinic. Sometimes aftercare is poor and this can put the patient’s health at risk. Thankfully, the General Medical Council in the UK has recognised this problem and issued new guidance to clarify their expectations of doctors who work in the cosmetic industry.

They want to make sure that doctors:

  • Are appropriately trained and experienced to practise safely
  • Work with each individual patient to make sure their expectations about the outcomes that can be achieved for them are realistic
  • Follow current guidelines or protocols for safe, effective provision of cosmetic interventions
  • Consider the psychological needs of their patients
  • Do not allow any financial or commercial interests in a particular intervention, or an organisation providing cosmetic interventions, to adversely affect standards of good patient care.

Well, fine,” you might think “How is this relevant to Adam, though? He isn’t a doctor!” Well, no – you’re right, I’m not! But I’m bound by a very similar code that all nurses have to adhere to. You can read it here.

More importantly, I welcome regulation of the cosmetic industry: putting the patient first is one of our core values. So I’m more than happy to follow this new guidance and actively encourage our fellow practitioners to do the same.