Recommendations for the scope of the Department of Health and Social Care review of licensing in England–the case for redefining the more invasive procedures as ‘surgical’

This article focuses on those cosmetic ‘non-surgical’ procedures that have been the subject of controversy and concern for many years due to their level of ‘invasiveness’ and association with the use of adjunctive ‘surgical’ techniques. The Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners (JCCP) has been working with colleagues and experts from across the aesthetics sector to inform the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) as part of a pre-consultative phase in the development and design of a new non-surgical licensing scheme for England as proposed in Clause 180 of the Health and Care Act, 2022. Clause 180 advises that:

» The cosmetic sector is dynamic, creative, and resourceful, but it is readily abused. The advent of new products and new procedures, or the varying use and application of old ones, can be a challenge to inflexible regulations that fail to keep pace with these developments «

The JCCP is frequently in receipt of concerns regarding a range of aesthetic procedures that are constantly emerging for unregulated use in the UK. The cosmetic sector is dynamic, creative, and resourceful, but it is readily abused. The advent of new products and new procedures, or the varying use and application of old ones, can be a challenge to inflexible regulations that fail to keep pace with these developments. It is therefore essential to the ongoing success of the Government's proposed licensing scheme in England that regulations are developed to adapt to this evolving sector. This is to facilitate this entrepreneurial spirit within the confines of public safety.