JCCP defends position on beauty therapists, following launch of registers

The Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners (JCCP) has defended its decision to include beauty therapists on its new registers, following their launch on March 1.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 You & Yours programme on March 12, JCCP chair Professor David Sines addressed the backlash from those who believe beauty therapists shouldn’t be allowed to register as practitioners.

He was joined by aesthetic nurse prescriber Sue Ibrahim, who argued that there’s no way therapists can be struck off for malpractice like clinicians, and it is therefore a risk to public safety to allow them to join the register and administer injectables.

“Legally, beauty therapists are not proscribed from being able to inject. By law they are able to inject,” replied Sines, adding: “Our standards state that the two most invasive procedures – botox and dermal fillers – can only be administered under the supervision of a registered clinician… no beauty therapist is able to inject unless they have a clinician supporting them and prescribing the medication.”

Sines also said that with the registers the JCCP would begin to improve standards and prevent doctors and nurses providing medicines such as botox to beauty therapists remotely without having first seen the patient to assess them.

“Our supervision framework makes it very clear that it’s not only lilegal, it’s unprofessional, so we’re actually starting to tighten up standards and restrict the way in which people practice to ensure we have greater safety,” he said.

The registers were initially planned to open for registrations in November 2017.

The Practitioner Register requires members to meet standards set by the Cosmetic Practice Standards Authority (CPSA), a body of experts established for this purpose, while the Practitioner Register, or the JCCP Register of Approved Education and Training Providers, will ensure that aesthetic treatments training is fit for purpose.

The combined founding members of the JCCP and CPSA include The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), The British Association of Cosmetic Nurses (BACN), The British Association of Dermatologists (BAD), The British Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS), and The British College of Aesthetic Medicine (BCAM). The registers also have the backing of The General Medical Council (GMC), The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Ofqual.

Read more about the JCCP here.