City clinic is first to sign register

An Edinburgh clinic has become the first in Scotland to sign up to new legislation which is designed to safeguard people who undergo cosmetic procedures such as Botox and laser eye surgery.

Clinics offering procedures such as Botox must register by next April

Dermal Clinic in Morningside is now established as the flagbearer for the cosmetic industry in Scotland after it was confirmed as the first practice to have successfully registered with Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

The new legislation requires independent clinics, where doctors and nurses provide surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures – such as Botox, dermal fillers, or laser eye surgery – as well as dentists, midwives and dental care professionals to register with Healthcare Improvement Scotland by next April.

Registered clinics have the opportunity to demonstrate the high standards to which they operate and to show they have the necessary safety measures in place. Registration for independent clinics opened on April 1, and since then 258 services across Scotland have responded to say they require to register and they are completing their application to register. HIS estimates there are around 500 independent clinics in Scotland which must register. Dermal Clinic founding director Jackie Partridge, who was appointed to the HIS Programme Board as a representative for the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses to provide a voice for nursing stakeholders affected by the law change, said being the first clinic to register sets an important precedent for others in the sector to follow.

She said: “The new legislation for independent clinics is vital to ensure the best care is carried out in the safest environment for every patient.

“While independent clinics which have nurses or doctors are already tightly regulated by their own governing bodies, the new regulation will provide people looking for treatments in these clinics with unprecedented levels of confidence.”

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