New guidelines from the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) released this week paint a damning picture of an unregulated cosmetic surgery market and demand tough action against unqualified practitioners.

Issuing its guidance ahead of a major review by NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh, the RCS says the relaxed attitude towards cosmetic surgery of the past has to end. Procedures must be carried out on medical premises and be properly qualified. Those who inject Botox or fillers should be doctors, dentists or nurses. It also calls for “Botox parties” and “filler parties” in homes to be banned.

Their message follows other concerned bodies such as Hamilton Fraser Cosmetic Insurance which made the decision not to insure those administering injectables who are not registered doctors, dentists or nurses.

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has also demanded action and has drafted and submitted a new, strict advertising code to regulator CAP (the Committee of Advertising Practice).

Professor Norman Williams, president of the RCS, said: “We have serious concerns that not all those who offer cosmetic procedures are adequately qualified, or that patients are getting accurate information prior to treatment.”

There is a growing awareness from the general public too that the person injecting them with Botox or dermal fillers needs to be fully qualified and hold medical insurance. The message being pushed to them is: only doctors, dentists and registered nurses have the necessary expertise and professional standing to administer dermal fillers safely and then be held to account for your safety.

A barrage of newspaper reports have exposed injectors who, no matter their background and impressive their certificates, cannot deliver the requisite expertise of the healthcare professionals and nor are they accountable for outcomes.