In a landmark decision, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is updating its position on the remote prescribing of non-surgical cosmetic medicines, including certain anti-wrinkle injections and aesthetic emergency kit items.
From 1 June 2025, nursing and midwifery prescribers must consult with people face-to-face before issuing prescriptions for these procedures, banning virtual consultations for such treatments.
We expect all nurse and midwife prescribers to deliver safe and effective prescribing practice every day, but inconsistent regulation of non-surgical cosmetic practice can present risks to people who use these services and the public,” says the NMC. “Face-to-face consultations support the mitigation of these risks, and adopting this position will better align the NMC with other health and care regulators.”
What the research found
The NMC conducted research and stakeholder engagement to understand the perception of remote prescribing, and the impact any potential changes would have on those administering and receiving non-surgical cosmetic medicines.
In 2024, the industry body commissioned Thinks, an independent public-facing research agency, which engaged with members of the public who had undergone non-surgical cosmetic procedures and those who had not. Meanwhile, the NMC hosted a roundtable event attended by, regulated health and care professionals who prescribe non-surgical cosmetic medicines, non-prescribing, regulated health and care professionals who administer non-surgical cosmetic treatments, and unregulated practitioners who administer non-surgical cosmetic treatments such as beauticians and cosmetic business owners.
The research found that overall, people supported the NMC strengthening its position to better protect the public, and agreed that it would improve safety for people using services and that many people who underwent non-surgical cosmetic procedures had not fully considered how the medicine was obtained when the person administering or injecting it was not a healthcare professional, nor did they realise that these were prescribed medicines
The research also found that many people perceived procedures to be overly accessible, taking place within unregulated environments and unsure whether those administering or injecting medicines had sufficient training and some participants, especially business owners, thought that video consultations should be permitted and that a requirement for face-to-face consultations felt outdated.
Professional perceptions
“As someone that’s been practicing medicine for nearly 40 years, I fully welcome this change in what will protect vulnerable patients and save countless lives,” says Dr Mike Tee from the Harley Street Skin Clinic on this breaking news. “Drugs such as Botox, fillers and GLP-1’s are not without risk and these are best communicated during a proper consultation where a patient is able to discuss this with a medical professional in a face-to-face capacity.”
“I welcome these updates provided by the NMC. There is a reason why these are controlled drugs. However, the previous guidelines left something of a grey area that was exploited by those who do not put patients safety first and no doubt put people’s lives at risk," says nurse prescriber, Fiona Mitchell.
“‘Botox parties’, for example, are unregulated events where beauticians administer treatments in a party setting where alcohol is served. These environments are completely inappropriate for medical procedures and reflect how some are manipulating patients for financial gain while exploiting patient safety. Even within the setting of a beauty salon, which may seem more legitimate, people are putting their trust in individuals who should not be administering aesthetic treatments like botox,” she adds.
“With these new safeguarding measures, we can now ensure that patients are being seen face-to-face and that the drugs are being prescribed with careful oversight, which should put an end to events like these.”
“The British Beauty Council strongly welcomes the NMC’s new guidance, which will provide much-needed clarity to stamp out remote prescribing,” says Victoria Brownlie MBE and chief policy and sustainability officer at the British Beauty Council.
“We have long advocated for higher standards and greater public safety when it comes to non-surgical cosmetic procedures, especially when it comes to injectables. For us, this means robust training, regulated qualifications, mandatory insurance, premises standards and inspections across all of the UK. This will instill greater public confidence in the treatments and services offered.”
David Sines CBE, chair of the JCCP, echoed the need for better regulation…
“The JCCP has campaigned rigorously for professional statutory regulators to embargo and sanction the use of remote prescribing for non-surgical elective procedures. We consider that the cessation of such practices is a central requirement to ensure patient safety and public protection within the context of any future scheme of statutory licensing and regulation for the aesthetics sector in the UK.’
“The JCCP in partnership with the British Beauty Council has persistently and consistently called upon the UK Government and the associated Government Professional Statutory Regulators responsible for the regulation of all UK Prescribers to prohibit the practice of remote prescribing for medicines used as part of any form of elective non-surgical cosmetic procedural process. This announcement is a significant step forward in public protection,” Sines continued.
Next steps
“Updating our position will protect the public and maintain trust and confidence in the professions. We encourage those businesses to think about how they may need to adapt the way they operate when employing nurse and midwife prescribers. We have heard how they can adopt the approaches used for other regulated professionals for nurse and midwife prescribers,” says Anne Trotter, NMC assistant director of education and standards.
“We’ll continue to engage with our stakeholders from across the UK and we have updated our ‘Useful information for prescribers’ with details about the changes which are due to come into effect on 1 June.”
