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<\/p>\nFrontline medics are now being faced with putting right the damage done by untrained, non-medical practitioners who are carrying out procedures.<\/p>\n
04:30, 14 Apr 2025Updated 13:33, 14 Apr 2025<\/p>\n
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Patients suffering botched cosmetic surgery<\/a> are putting pressure on Scotland\u2019s A&E<\/a> departments, a top doctor has claimed.<\/p>\n Frontline medics are now being faced with putting right the damage done by untrained, non-medical practitioners who are carrying out procedures with Botox <\/a>and dermal fillers but have no idea how to fix things if they go wrong.<\/p>\n Dr Ben Taylor-Davies, who runs an Edinburgh clinic and also works as an A&E doctor, said there has been an explosion in cases of people with complications turning to NHS doctors in Scotland which has been dubbed the \u201cWild West\u201d for cosmetic surgery.<\/p>\n Dr Taylor-Davies, who runs the Stockbridge Clinic in Edinburgh, also slammed the Scottish Government\u2019s latest proposals to establish a three-tier system for regulating cosmetic procedures.<\/p>\n He warns it dangerously prioritises industry interests over public safety.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cI\u2019ve really noticed over the last six months that I\u2019ve had more people presenting to my clinic with complications from non-medical injectors.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019ve also seen people in A&E who have come in with problems, in a distressed state, not knowing where else to turn, because the person who has carried out this treatment is not a medical professional.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality is when a complication has arisen, the person who did the original procedure doesn\u2019t have the medical training necessary to recognise and manage that.<\/p>\n \u201cThey haven\u2019t known what to do so they\u2019ve just told them to present to the NHS.\u201d The medic said A&E doctors are usually not \u00adexperienced in aesthetic medicine or plastic surgery.<\/p>\n He has been personally carrying out teaching for all the A&E doctors in the NHS departments he works at, showing them how to recognise and manage complications.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cThe same lessons are being given to GPs because the same pattern of cases is repeating there. There is no doubt this lack of regulation is heap-ing needless stress on the NHS.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Taylor-Davies slammed the Scottish Government\u2019s suggested three-tier system of regulating non-surgical cosmetic procedures (NSCPs) \u2013 where greatest risk to patients is at Group 3.<\/p>\n He claims the most contentious aspect of the proposal, which emerged from consultation that ended in February, would allow non-medical practitioners to administer dermal fillers via injections under the middle Group 2 classification.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cInjectables should be limited to healthcare professionals \u2013 doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists with prescribing qualifications. There is absolutely no reasonable argument for anyone outside of this group to be performing injectables. It is simply not safe.<\/p>\n “We\u2019re seeing an increasing high number of patients coming into the clinic that are extremely distressed, with serious complications from treatments administered by people with no medical training.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cI\u2019ve been working in A&E and I\u2019ve been required to dissolve lip filler that\u2019s been blocking a blood vessel. Equally, in my aesthetic medical clinic, I see people coming in with similar complications.<\/p>\n \u201cLuckily, it\u2019s rare I\u2019d be needed to dissolve the filler but when it happens, it\u2019s an emergency and it\u2019s time critical because you can get tissue death and in rare cases, blindness. So it just isn\u2019t right that non-medical practitioners are allowed anywhere near stuff like this, when they don\u2019t know what to do when it goes wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Taylor-Davies stressed that aesthetic medicine is costly to administer properly, with all the safety measures that need to be applied.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cProfessional clinicians are using products \u2013 injectable implants and dermal fillers \u2013 that are of really high quality and have gone through rigorous testing.<\/p>\n \u201cOther countries like the US have got FDA approval and all these things. But in the UK, because we don\u2019t have that requirement, there are hundreds and hundreds of other fillers that are of a very poor quality and we don\u2019t really know what\u2019s in them.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cPeople are really taken aback when they learn there are no standards, no qualifications, no requirement for medical training to offer these treatments, because in pretty much every country in the world, that\u2019s not the case \u2013 there is proper regulation.<\/p>\n \u201cThis comes up at international \u00adconferences, where doctors, nurses, surgeons, dermatologists from other countries cannot get their head around the fact things in the United Kingdom can be so slack. And Scotland is arguably worse than the rest of the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n Currently, only establishments operated by registered healthcare professionals fall under \u00adHealthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) oversight, while beauty salons, hairdressers and home-based practitioners operate without professional supervision.<\/p>\n The 2022 Scottish Government consultation into non-surgical cosmetic procedures regulation aimed to introduce a structured framework for regulating cosmetic treatments.<\/p>\n Unlike England, which prohibits administering Botox and fillers to anyone under 18, Scotland lacks age-specific protections.<\/p>\n According to a 2023 Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh survey, one-third of Scottish doctors reported treating complications from cosmetic procedures, with cases involving patients as young as 16.<\/p>\n Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.<\/p>\n You’ll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.<\/p>\n No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.<\/p>\n![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0_jgr_doc.jpg\")
Dr Ben Taylor-Davies<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0_jgr_dsf_130425_hospital.jpg\")
A&E St John’s Hospital, Livingston<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0_jgr_woman2.jpg\")
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