Cosmetic surgery companies accused of failing customers

Fewer than half of sites performing operations have a fully-equipped operating theatre and far too many firms will just "have a go" at procedures.

The report, from the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death, said the regulation of the cosmetic surgery industry "remains poor".

It found training in cosmetic surgery is available at just 16 per cent of sites, with the rest failing to provide any training.

Almost one in five (18 per cent) units have no policy on what to do if patients needed readmitting in an emergency following their operation, with the "default position" being the NHS will pick up the tab and provide care.

The study leading to the report published today also found many units did not carry out enough procedures on their "menu" to ensure their surgeons retain expertise, despite the fact "experience and competence run hand in hand".

It said: "With the exception of breast augmentation, the majority of centres performed fewer than 20 of the offered procedures per year."

Experts also revealed that 32 per cent of firms do not offer a "cooling off" period as laid down in rules from the General Medical Council (GMC) on obtaining proper consent, while 22 per cent do not have a member of resuscitation staff on duty at all time.

There was also evidence of companies flouting rules on advertising and promotions with the existence of a voluntary code of conduct being "insufficient to regulate unscrupulous advertising".

Nigel Mercer, president of British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), whose members performed 36,482 procedures in the UK last year (around a third of the total), said: "These figures present a distressing picture, but one which is sadly not surprising to us as they only confirm what we have been saying for years – that there is an absolute need for statutory regulation in this sector."