Nurses get Botox course to swell safety standards
KATE FOSTER
NURSES are being offered formal training in treatments such as Botox injections in a bid to crack down on a lack of regulation in the cosmetics industry.
The qualification is the first of its kind and is aimed at ensuring staff administering injections and laser treatments are fully trained.
There is currently no requirement for those carrying out non-surgical cosmetic procedures to be registered with the health regulator, the Care Commission. This means that unlike doctors carrying out cosmetic surgery, practitioners are not required to comply with basic safety standards and in some cases there have been serious side-effects to treatment.
In 2005, the Government acknowledged that, in the wrong hands, Botox and other injectable procedures put patients at risk of injury, including disfigurement and transmission of hepatitis and vCJD.
However, some patients' organisations have voiced anger at the move, which they say could attract staff away from the frontline of the NHS into more lucrative beauty therapy work at a time when the shortage of hospital nurses is at its highest level in a decade.
The Graduate Diploma in Aesthetic Medicine is being offered to UK nurses as a distance learning course.
The first nurses will begin training in February and already course leaders say more than 100 have applied for a place. Nurses will learn skin care and nutrition as well as the techniques involved in administering a range of cosmetic procedures. They include injecting Botulinum toxin, such as Botox, which eliminates lines from the face, as well as laser treatment to remove hair and blemishes.
Applicants will need to have around a year's experience working in general nursing.
Britain's cosmetic treatment industry was worth £528.9m last year. Non-surgical procedures were the fastest growth market and this trend is set to continue as more people seek quick and effective methods to reverse signs of ageing that do not involve radical surgery.
Valerie Smith, independent sector adviser for the Royal College of Nursing which has set up the course, said there were growing concerns about the lack of regulation in the cosmetics industry.
Currently services such as Botox are available in high street clinics and beauty salons from doctors, nurses and beauty therapists. Earlier this year clothing catalogue firm Grattan added Botox to the products it sells, offering customers the chance to pay up over a number of weeks and have the procedure performed at a clinic run by Transform, a cosmetic surgery firm.
Smith said: "If it was me having this treatment I would want go to someone who was a skilled practitioner and could deal with complications if something went wrong.
"At the moment there are very limited courses and no qualifications. The Chief Medical Officer has recommended that cosmetic practitioners should be able to give the public their qualifications which is difficult if there are none to be obtained."
Julie Payne, programme leader for the course, which is being run from the University of Greenwich, said:
"This diploma will validate a nurse's experience and gives the public a clear view that the nurse is competent. With any chemical, there is a potential for a reaction so we are going to be making sure that the nurses understand the signals for reaction and they know the emergency interventions."
The full course with training in all treatments costs £4,800 and can be completed within 18 months.
Qualified nurse Suzanne Armstrong runs cosmetic clinics across Scotland and is going to take some of the course modules. She said:
"This course gives clinical standards in an area that has been sorely lacking and confirms this area as a speciality."
However, Margaret Watt, chairman of the Scotland Patients' Association, said she was "gobsmacked" at the development at a time when the shortage of NHS nurses was growing. There are 2,445 nursing vacancies across the NHS in Scotland, a total of 4.2% of the nursing workforce.
Watt said: "This is obscene. Patients don't want Botox, they want medical treatment and they want nurses to spend time with them when they are in hospital. Nurses should stay in the public sector and not be encouraged into the private sector. If they want to do Botox treatments they should train as beauty therapists."
Saving or losing face?
Beauty treatments and their possible side-effects:
Botulinum toxin injections (brand name Botox) Cost £175-£350
Contains a protein compound derived from a bacteria which prevents nerves from functioning normally. Used to smooth out laughter lines. However, side-effects can include paralysing muscles, fever and rash. Celebrities who have used Botox include model Cindy Crawford.
Dermal fillers Cost £150-£750
Used to plump up skin and lips. Side-effects include swelling. Actress Leslie Ash suffered an allergic reaction to a collagen lip treatment in 2003 and became renowned for her "trout pout".
Laser hair removal Cost £300-£500
Used to permanently remove unwanted hair. However, side-effects include burns and scars if not administered properly.
Dermabrasion Cost £500-£2,000
An acid skin peel that improves scarring, acne, sun damage and wrinkles. Side-effects can include scarring, infection and permanent changes in skin pigmentation.