Plea to Government to outlaw 'cowboy practitioners' in aesthetics industry as five Peterborough people in hospital in botulism scare

The five are among eight people from East Anglia who have recently been admitted to Peterborough City Hospital in need of ventilatory support as a result of being given a nonregulated form of Botulinum Toxin.

Just a few days ago it was reported that four people from Peterborough were receiving treatment at the city’s hospital after receiving unregulated cosmetic treatments.

Growing concerns over the rising number of adverse reactions to cosmetic procedures being reported in Peterborough were first raised a week ago by health and civic leaders.

They say that the evidence suggests the reaction has been caused by the use of unlicensed Botox-like products and are working to stop practitioners linked to cases of botulism from carrying out further treatments.

Now Peterborough MP Andrew Pakes and city GP Councillor Shabina Qayyum, who is also Peterborough City Council’s cabinet member for health and social care, have jointly called on the Minister for Health, Karin Smyth, urging the Government to move ahead rapidly with plans to regulate unlicensed practitioners of cosmetic treatments.

They fear the use of Botulinum Toxin has been exploited in the aesthetics industry by ‘cowboy practitioners’ who have taken advantage of the lack of governance

The number of people receiving treatment has been revealed in a letter from Mr Pakes and Cllr Qayyum to the Minister for Health.

Call to Health Minister for urgent action:

They state: “This is deeply worrying with aesthetic practitioners operating either from their homes or undertaking home visits, practicing with no qualifications, or sanitary standards and placing people's lives at risk by selling out qualified practitioners by offering cheaper rates.”

They say health officials have been ‘working tirelessly’ to shut down these practitioners and prevent them from treating further people.

But they add: “It is with regret, however, that very little can be done as the industry is one that has not been legislated.

"Use of Botulinum Toxin has been exploited in the aesthetics industry by cowboy practitioners who have taken advantage of the lack of governance and legislation and have quite frankly placed lucrative earnings ahead of the risk to life that this medication can have when side effects are experienced, and it is not Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency-approved.

"We urge the Government to take action to regulate this industry to ensure medically qualified professionals to administer treatments such as Botulinum Toxin.

‘Life-threatening practices’:

“We believe that before someone loses their life to these practices, any necessary steps taken by the Government will be gratefully welcomed by both medical professionals who are being sold out of the industry and patients who undergo such treatments.

They add: “We want to take the opportunity to thank the wonderful NHS staff at Peterborough City Hospital who have looked after the patients and nursed them back to recovery; and know that you join us too in reciprocating the same.”

What are the politicians saying?

Peterborough Andrew Pakes MP said: “The recent spate of people ending up in hospital following unregulated cosmetic treatments is deeply worrying. Thankfully everyone has recovered well.

“The Government has already talked about the importance of raising standards in cosmetic and beauty treatments, but we need to go quicker to prevent these kinds of accidents happening again.

“We have brilliant NHS staff and I’d like to thank everyone involved in supporting the patients through their recovery. The cosmetic industry has some highly trained and professional practitioners and we need to ensure these are not undercut by unregulated treatments.”

Cllr Qayyum said: “The aesthetics Industry has been unregulated since its inception.

"There is evidence of many people who have experienced serious side effects from unqualified practitioners and often left with life changing injuries.

“Over the last two weeks eight people, five of whom reside in our city, have been admitted to hospital as a result of serious side effects requiring ventilatory support after being administered non-regulated botulism toxin.

"This is incredibly worrying.

The time to act is now. I am very pleased that our MP and I will be working together to lobby our Government on regulating the industry and keeping our city and people across the country safe.”

What you should consider before undergoing aesthetic procedures:

Make sure your practitioner is qualified to carry out the procedure, is wearing appropriate PPE and washing their hands

They should offer a pre-consultation appointment, including an assessment of your medical history and be happy to discuss their qualifications

They should also provide you with a consent form outlining the risks for you to sign

Botulism symptoms can include:

Drooping eyelids

Blurred or double vision

Facial muscle weakness

Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)

Slurred speech

Breathing difficulties

What to do if you experience side-effects:

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency encourages reporting of side-effects to authorised botulinum toxin products via the Yellow Card scheme.

These products can have rare but serious side effects and should only be administered by physicians with appropriate experience.