General practitioners invited to cash in on cosmetic boom
Company Offers to Train GPs in Lasers, Injectables and Peels - Surgeons Concerned
21 May 2007 (Last updated: 26 Mar 2019 13:15)
London, UK - 21 May 2007 - The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (www.baaps.org.uk), the not-for-profit organisation established for the advancement of education and practice of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery for public benefit, today denounced new courses set up to train GPs in the latest aesthetic treatments. The workshops, which don't seem to meet any national or international standards of training, are entitled 'Appearance Medicine' and are run by doctors based in New Zealand. The scheme, advertised in the British Medical Journal, also offers to set up UK General Practitioners as franchisees, with all the equipment necessary to perform procedures such as Botox, dermal fillers, chemical peels, IPL and lasers.
According to Douglas McGeorge, consultant plastic surgeon and BAAPS President;
"These alarming developments further emphasise the urgent need for proper regulation in the aesthetic arena, to ensure people are treated only by appropriately trained clinicians. There are many courses out there that do not meet any national standards of training - it's not a question of whether GPs should be offering these treatments, but a question of who should be providing the education."
The programme for one of the events, which took place over three days in a Manchester hotel earlier in the month, seduced attendees by asking 'Need a change of direction?' and promised 'no stress, happy customers and financial satisfaction', as well as 'business opportunities'. According to one GP who attended out of curiosity, the treatment demonstrations were performed on willing hotel staff who, upon hearing that free Botox, fillers, and mole removal procedures were available, 'crawled out of the woodwork'.
According to Maurice Mann, a GP based in Derbyshire;
"The franchise option turned me cold - but I guess there will be many practitioners out there wanting a piece of this market. Learning about 'appearance medicine' is one thing. Doing it surely is for the professionals."
The business opportunities referred to include the opportunity for the GPs in question to become 'licensees', and thereby receive assistance in marketing and advertising their new services, as well as advice on location and décor of their premises. The company also has workshops scheduled in South Africa and the far East.
To provide the public with further support in researching options in aesthetics, the BAAPS have recently joined forces with a website providing on-demand, free downloadable radio shows and podcasts about the latest trends in cosmetic surgery, presented by Maggie Philbin (of 'Tomorrow's World' fame) on www.buyassociation.co.uk/lookinggood.
ENDS
The BAAPS (www.baaps.org.uk), based at the Royal College of Surgeons, is a not-for-profit organisation, established for the advancement of education and practice of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery for public benefit. Members undergo thorough background screening before they can join. Information about specific procedures and surgeons’ contact details can be found on the website, or by contacting their office at 020 7430 1840. Further materials can be posted to members of the public seeking specialised information. BAAPS is also on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BAAPSMedia and Facebook: www.facebook.com/BritishAssociationofAestheticPlasticSurgeons
For all media enquiries, please contact pr@baaps.org.uk
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