Group Deals: Don’t Be Fooled By Bargain Botox®

Oct. 27, 2011 - PRLog -- In response to a rising number of providers advertising cosmetic injectable treatments on group buying sites, the Independent Healthcare Advisory Services (IHAS) has today warned consumers not to be tempted by these misleading and potentially unsafe deals. Indeed, many of these deals are illegally advertising botox®, a prescription only medicine which the Advertising Standards Authority state should not be advertised to the public.
Whilst group buying sites are currently some of the most viewed internet sites in the UK, the IHAS are instead urging the public to ‘shop responsibly’ when considering a cosmetic injectable treatment and consult www.TreatmentsYouCanTrust.co.uk to ensure their provider is regulated and appropriately qualified.

Sally Taber, who is responsible for the management of the Standards and Training principles for Treatments You Can Trust says: “With 1.4million cosmetic injectable treatments expected to be conducted in the UK this year, 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.
She added: “These deals invariably fail to clarify the clinical background of the practitioner and the appropriate clinical environment in which the treatment will be conducted, as poor cleanliness can lead to infection.  Low standards in either or both can lead to permanent physical damage. Group buying sites are also trivialising cosmetic injectable treatments by forcing consumers into making a hasty decision which can lead to unfortunate consequences.”

Group buying site practices which violate the ASA and IHAS Standards include:
•   Group buying sites are likely transgressing the Medicines Act 1973 as Botox® is a prescription  only medicine, botulinum toxin, and should be prescribed only by a Doctor, Dentists or independent Nurse prescriber
•   Consumers are lured into committing to a treatment before the necessary clinical suitability assessment
•   Making eligibility time dependent contravenes the ASA advised Standards which state that advertisements should not offer discounts linked to a deadline date, or other date-linked incentives
•   The IHAS Standards require that written informed consent must be obtained prior to administration of any injectable cosmetic treatment .
•   Beauty therapists using misleading titles are advertising cosmetic injectable treatments – ONLY a Doctor, Dentist and Registered Nurse is appropriately qualified with the clinical background necessary to conduct such treatments
•   The necessary aftercare is not included in group buying site daily deals, and lack of which would compromise patient safety and contravenes the IHAS Standards for administering cosmetic injectable treatments

Notes to editors:

TREATMENTS YOU CAN TRUST
Providers can apply for registration through www.TreatmentsYouCanTrust.co.uk. Treatments You Can Trust will register organisations whose practitioners are providing injectable cosmetic treatments. It will also register solo practitioners.
The IHAS Register of Injectable Cosmetic Providers is for regulated healthcare professionals (doctors, registered nurses and dentists) and organisations and facilities undertaking injectable cosmetic treatments. It rigorously screens the providers seeking registration before awarding successful ones the IHAS Quality Assurance Mark. Registered Providers must demonstrate that they meet the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act Section 3 and the Medicines Act of 1973.
To join the scheme organisations and solo practitioners must meet industry standards, which include that only doctors, dentists and registered nurses can be involved in the delivery of these injectable cosmetic treatments to patients. All practitioners are accountable to their statutory regulators and must adhere to the standards set by the GDC, GMC and NMC. The Register will report poor practice to the relevant regulators where appropriate.
Applications for registration on the scheme are reviewed by a team of experts, who will also run inspections by conducting site visits randomly selected, with only 24 hours’ prior notice to providers.  CHKS, the UK’s leading independent provider of healthcare intelligence and quality improvement services, is providing the third party, background screening and web based registration scheme as well as the inspection programme.
INDEPENDENT HEALTHCARE ADVISORY SERVICES (IHAS)
IHAS contracted with the Department of Health and established a self financing scheme. All registration fees are applied to improvement and thus patient safety of Treatments You Can Trust.  This was set up by a working group brought together by IHAS with representatives from the Bupa Dental, Mapperley Park Clinic, Renew Medica, sk:n, The Harley Medical Group, Transform, The British Association of Cosmetic Doctors and the membership of the Royal College of Nursing. Treatments You Can Trust will shortly become self-governing under an independent governance group as well as self financing.