MP Asks Health Minister About Regulation, Registration Of Providers

The issue of laser treatment regulation has been raised in Parliament, after a 55-year-old woman claimed she suffered scarring in a procedure.

Vanda Thomas said she was "scarred for life" after undergoing laser hair removal treatment in a Redbridge salon without being given a patch test first, the Ilford Recorder reports.

Ilford South MP Mike Gapes has now tabled a question to Health Minister Jeremy Hunt, asking what steps should be taken to "ensure more effective regulation of providers of cosmetic laser treatments". The parliamentary question also asks whether a register of providers will be introduced.

"If you go to a dentist or a doctor or you receive any other cosmetic treatment it's regulated, but this isn't, and people are putting themselves into danger," the newspaper reports Mr Gapes as saying.

In September, the Association of Independent Healthcare Providers (AIHO) called on the government to introduce an approved register of laser hair removal practitioners. The organisation said such a register is "essential" for the public to know which practitioners they can trust.

Expert Opinion

Through our work helping patients injured as a result of errors during cosmetic procedures, we have seen on numerous occasions how such problems can have a lasting impact on people’s lives. <br/> <br/>"We have long called for more to be done to improve regulation in the cosmetic industry, including the introduction of more robust systems to ensure products are tested and safe for use and steps to ensure that best practice is followed across the sector. <br/> <br/>"Patient safety should always be the priority and it is vital that steps are taken to ensure more is done to prevent people facing unnecessary risks." Mandy Luckman - Partner