Warning over the dangers of Botox parties

Scotland’s regulator of private health clinics has issued a warning about the dangers of so-called Botox parties.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) is concerned about treatment at parties organised with unregulated providers, such as beauticians, where alcohol is being consumed.

The regulator says cosmetic treatments such as Botox, dermal fillers and slimming jabs should only be administered by recognised healthcare professionals.

All private clinics, hospitals and hospices where services are provided by healthcare professionals are legally required to be registered with HIS.

Eddie Docherty, director of quality assurance and regulation at HIS, said: “Having a cosmetic treatment is a serious undertaking that should only be entered into with due consideration of the very real risks to an individual’s health and safety.

“Bringing together the injecting of Botox, alcohol and a party atmosphere reduces people’s judgement, and their ability to properly provide consent and consider the real risks.

“No clinic regulated by us, and run by a healthcare professional, would be permitted to run Botox parties as an appropriate environment to provide such a treatment.”

Mr Docherty said only trained and experienced healthcare professionals should administer Botox, acquired through a registered pharmacist.

He added: “People should always check that a clinic is registered with HIS before undertaking treatments.”

Jackie Partridge, clinical director of the Dermal Clinic in Edinburgh, told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme that such parties were “really, really dangerous”

She said dermal fillers were more dangerous than Botox as they can block the blood supply to the skin and cause “skin death”.

She said: “If that were to happen in a medical clinic, there’s another prescription medication that can be used to dissolve the dermal filler to get out of that dangerous scenario,” she said.

“That will not be at the hands of someone who is not medically qualified.”

She said the General Medical Council (GMC) had banned remote prescribing – where a doctor prescribes to a non medic – to be administered to someone else and it was hoped the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) would follow suit.

She said: “It is very frustrating when there is a double standard out there between somebody like ourselves and others who are registered with HIS versus someone who has done a few hours-long course and might have been a taxi driver, plumber or beautician

“They then start stabbing the public with something which is a very powerful, prescription-only medication.”

Ms Partridge added that those in the industry were “desperately seeking tighter regulation”.

She added: “If you are going to a home environment, the standards of cleanliness are not going to be there, there are going to be infection control risks, there’s going to be very limited patient safety.

“It’s so important that people do their research before undertaking a procedure.”

A Scottish government consultation on tighter regulation closed on 14 February with the results expected by the end of June.