PIAPA call for better regulation of dermal fillers and those who provide them
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You may have seen a recent front-page article of The Times headlined ‘Cosmetic Injections - The Next Disaster’ (Jan 3rd 2012).
The main body of this article reflects the same feelings held by members of the aesthetic nurses group PIAPA (Private Independent Aesthetic Practices Association). Members are reporting increasingly hard-sell from companies and individuals offering practitioners numerous alternative fillers, administered by individuals with sometimes questionable skills and qualifications, it would seem a disaster similar to the PIP implant situation may become more inevitable as time passes.
Considering this, it would seem that now is the time to push for meaningful regulation and systematic training with a main focus not on assessing structure and premises but rather the skills, knowledge and experience of the injectors themselves as well as the product used and outcomes.
However, some points drawn upon in the article were not in line with our beliefs or practice. Whilst I agree with our medical contemporary’s assertion that the status of fillers should change from a device to a medicine, I find it sad that once more a member of the medical fraternity is using this complex issue to close ranks and confine the speciality to a very small group of doctors, eliminating other equally and in many cases more skilled practitioners. One can only hope the underlying, though misguided, motive is public safety rather than commercial gain.
I think that within the industry it is well understood that both very good and very poor practice exists across the full spectrum of injectors. To ensure public safety and improve the reputation of the aesthetic profession a multidisciplinary approach of meaningful regulation and training with a workable monitoring system should be adopted.
Our only fear is that past experience has told us that when problems occur in a fast-evolving industry in which regulation is week or has failed to keep up, the pendulum swings too far in the opposite direction and bureaucratic over-regulation occurs.
Yvonne Senior RGN
RGN, MA, INP, is the Co-Founder of PIAPA, Private Independent Aesthetic Practices Association.
PIAPA is an organisation committed to improving standards within the aesthetic industry, providing support and education to fellow Practitioners. The guiding principles of .......view full author profile
Web Address: http://www.piapa.co.uk Email Address: info@piapa.co.uk
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