Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery Blog – Harley Medical Group

Statement from Sally Taber, Director of the Independent Healthcare Advisory Services (IHAS) in response to the Ministerial Statement by the Right Honourable Andrew Lansley MP, Secretary of State for Health

IHAS, which represents the majority of healthcare providers affected by the MHRA failure to detect the faulty PIP implants, welcomed much of the Secretary of State’s announcement.

Whilst the intention of the Health Secretary was to offer guidance, patients are feeling more confused and anxious now than ever before. With current Government position remaining unclear, patients want to know the timeline for the further investigations into PIP implants by the MHRA.

There is need for clarity on how patients can access scans and ensuring that all GPs are authorised to order scans.

Despite the private sector requesting a meeting with the Department of Health since Friday 6th January, the public and private sector have yet to meet and agree a deliverable solution. Our members have stepped forward to give all the assistance they can to the Expert Panel. We are yet to see comprehensive data from the NHS private patient units.

Members of IHAS are as much a victim of this fraud as the NHS and the patients. We all trusted the standards regulator, the MHRA, and the Department of Health.

If there is any moral or ethical obligation outstanding it lies with the Government’s regulatory agency, the MHRA. But the overriding issue here is that it is in everyone’s interest to work together to ensure that patients are treated with compassion.

The IHAS welcomes the intention for CQC to carry out unannounced inspections of independent providers. All our members comply with the CQC guidance framework and are registered by the CQC.
Notice to Editors

IHAS is a trade body of the independent acute healthcare sector and counts among its Members all the largest independent healthcare providers and many of the medium sized ones. Its remit is to facilitate better regulation and improved quality standards among its members, many of whom are leaders in their field of speciality. IHAS has, at government instance, established The IHAS Register of Injectable Cosmetic Providers, an industry standard-setting Register of providers of injectable cosmetics including Botox ® and dermal fillers called Treatments you can Trust. It published, at the request of the GMC, Good Medical Practice in Cosmetic Surgery, which sets standards for organisations

http://www.independenthealthcare.org.uk/

Consumers should be wary of deals offering discount Botox from sources that do not disclose their clinical background.

This is the advice from the Independent Healthcare Advisory Service (IHAS) which says the number of daily deals offering cheap Botox injections to consumers who are coerced into making hasty decisions is alarming.

Sally Taber, Director at IHAS, told the Daily Mail: “We are concerned by the increasing number of misleading and potentially unsafe deals for such treatments on group buying sites, which are not only misleading but also putting the public at risk.”

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Experts from the Independent Healthcare Advisory Service (IHAS) have launched a fresh bid to stamp out those offering cut-price Botox to unsuspecting consumers.

The IHAS has already set up Treatments You Can Trust – a database service that offers consumers an easy way to find registered and reputable clinics offering injectable treatments. Experts from the organisation are now going a step further; meeting health workers and government representatives this week to agree measures that, when implemented, will help to cut down on the number of rogue Botox practitioners.

The action has been prompted by a boom in those visiting unregulated practitioners to get cheaper treatment and being left with lumps, bumps, and serious infections.

Sally Taber, director at the IHAS, told The Sun: “It is very dangerous. You are putting your lives in the hands of someone who does not know what they are doing or what could happen. We have seen a rise in unqualified practitioners masquerading as professionals.”

Botox and other dermal fillers should only ever be injected by doctors, nurses or dentists, in other words, experts that have been properly trained and regulated.

Here at The Harley Medical Group we’ve been very excited to see all the newspaper coverage of the recently launched Independent Healthcare Advisory Services (IHAS) register for injectable treatments.

As proud members of the IHAS Register of Injectable Cosmetic Providers, we’re very happy to see that plenty of people are being made aware of the quality mark and the fact it’s likely to help save people from visiting dodgy practitioners. (more…)

With treatments such as Botox now being a normal part of many peoples’ beauty regimes, the industry has launched a new voluntary register to make it easier for Botox users to find accredited clinics to carry out the delicate treatments.

Those searching for reputable clinics to have the wrinkle relaxing treatments can now check whether or not the provider is listed on the Independent Healthcare Advisory Services (IHAS) registry.

NDTV reports that around 200,000 people get the non surgical treatments each year, with around 5,000 providers offering the service. This has caused increasing demand for Botox to be subject to the same regulations as other forms of cosmetic surgery treatments, to ensure people are in good hands.

“The consumers will need to look out for the quality mark which will assure them that if they go to that place, they’ll get a properly clinically trained person and also proper cleanliness in the facilities,” explained Dr Andrew Vallance-Owen of IHAS.

Although IHAS accreditation is not a guarantee of safety, Botox users could drastically reduce their risk of complications from the treatments when they look for the IHAS logo, which NDTV compares to a clinic “getting a safety certificate.”

IHAS accreditation is voluntary, this means that the onus is on Botox users to ensure that the clinics they visit have chosen to pursue the quality mark, and have proven themselves worthy.

As you may know already, here at The Harley Medical Group we’re passionate about making sure cosmetic treatments and cosmetic surgeries are only carried out by skilled professionals. Unfortunately, here in the UK we’ve seen and heard plenty of examples of people being put at risk by unqualified practitioners.

The good news is that this is beginning to change and we’re very happy to have been included on the IHAS Register of Injectable Cosmetic Providers! (more…)