Warning over 'cosmetic crisis'

The cosmetic surgery industry is "booming" but has also become "trivialised" and needs controlling, according to a review by health experts.

Chaired by Britain's most senior doctor, the review judged the cosmetic surgery industry a "crisis waiting to happen".

Commissioned in the wake of the PIP breast implant scandal, the report recommends tighter controls on who can carry out procedures, including BOTOX and other 'fillers'.

It concludes by warning that having a filler gives people no more protection than buying an everyday item like a toothbrush or a pen.

ITV News Consumer Editor Chris Choi reports:

Television presenter Lizzy Cundy told ITV's Daybreak she "really hopes" regulation is introduced in the cosmetic surgery industry and urged people "to do their homework" before having a procedure.

Laura-Alicia Summers, who suffered a severe reaction to a cosmetic treatment, told ITV's Daybreak the cheap lip filler procedure she had left her in "agonising" pain.

A committee set up by the Department of Health in the wake of the PIP breast implant scandal has recommended the following changes:

• Those who provide cosmetic procedures should undergo formal qualifications.
• People who inject fillers should also be signed up to a register.
• GPs should be informed of treatments so if something goes wrong they know what to treat.
• There should be a ban of financial offers for cosmetic surgery.

• Procedures must be approved by a surgeon and not a salesperson.
• A fund to help patients should a cosmetic surgery company go bust.
• There should be compulsory insurance in case a procedure goes wrong.

Greater Manchester Police's Chief Constable Garry Shewan has responded to figures which claim Manchester is the 'anti-social capital' of Britain.

Mr Shewan said anti-social behaviour is a "blight" on people's lives, he added:

The medical director for the NHS in England spoke to Daybreak about the findings of an official review into cosmetic procedures.

One of the suggestions included on the report was an insurance scheme which looks after patients when cosmetic surgery goes wrong.

Sir Bruce Keogh said: "We want to get to a place where the industry thrives but people are safe."

Nick Parkhouse, Consultant Plastic Surgeon and British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) member told Daybreak that he welcomed today's report, but what he really wanted was to "see it implemented".

He added, "I really hope that MPs will seize on the findings of this report, which are most importantly for proper qualification, proper training and most importantly for collection nationally of data regarding all the procedures that are carried out."

Mary Catchpole decided to use dermal fillers to look fresh for her wedding day.

After the treatment she suffered from vomiting, diarrhoea, sickness and flu-like symptoms.

Speaking to Daybreak she said: "I wish I'd have looked more at adverse effects, and basically if there was stricter labelling, stricter warnings, if there was compulsory skin tests, which there isn't," she added, "I would not have gone through with the injections."

Health officials have warned as part of a review, set up in the wake of the PIP breast implant scandal, that the cosmetic surgery industry has become an "everyday product" because of programmes such as The Only Way is Essex.

Interventions have been "normalised", it warned, with a "trivialisation" of procedures influenced by television programmes such as Towie.

A spokesman for The Only Way is Essex said: "Towie follows the lives of real people and remains impartial on observing their lifestyles.

"The show never seeks to glamorise plastic surgery and has indeed on occasion highlighted some dangers such as documenting Lauren Pope's discovery that she had the PIP implants and required extra surgery."