NEEDLE AND DREAD

Experts call for a crackdown on unregulated practitioners who set up after one-day course

- MARK MCGIVERN

SCOTTISH lawmakers are being urged to move swiftly to remove Scotland's tag as the "Wild West" of backstreet Botox surgeries.

Doctors and bosses of medic-led surgeries have condemned the system here, which allows unregulated charlatans to pass themselves off as experts in Botox and fillers after completing one-day courses.

The Record can reveal that some patients are travelling to England for safety reasons as a result of increasing numbers of botched non-surgical ops in Scotland.

Vanessa Brown, who runs VL Aesthetics clinic in Carlisle, said: "We often see patients crossing over the Border to receive safer, regulated treatments at our Care Quality Commission-regulated clinic.

"To say it is like the Wild West in Scotland is an understatement.

"Scotland can't afford to wait any longer the current lack of regulation is endangering lives and it's only a matter of time before we face even graver consequences.

"Implementing strong regulations would ensure that only medically trained individuals can perform these high-risk procedures, protecting the public from further harm and raising the standards our industry so desperately needs."

MSPs have pledged to complete a consultation on new aesthetics regulations by Christmas, with implementation planned by April 2026.

SNP MSP Stuart McMillan has campaigned for improvements.

Key issues discussed at a recent cross-party debate included regulating nonmedical practitioners introducing a minimum age for treatments and tighter controls on highrisk procedures such as Botox and fillers.

Currently, only licensed medical professionals are regulated by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), while nonmedics remain unregulated.