New standards for cosmetic surgery in Europe

The Health Tourism Blog has moved to the IMTJ web site. You can now find the Health Tourism Blog here in future.I will continue to post the first few paragraphs of the blog posts here. You can find the full version of this blog post on IMTJ:

Here's an extract of the latest blog post: New standards for cosmetic surgery in Europe


The recent PIP implants controversy has raised more concerns about regulation, operation and standards within the cosmetic surgery industry. In the UK, the Guardian newspaper has recently highlighted private cosmetic clinics that employ surgeons to carry out breast enlargements, nose jobs and tummy tucks who do not hold qualifications as plastic surgeons within the NHS (Private cosmetic clinics employing 'unqualified' surgeons).  There are also concerns about the quality standards and practices of cosmetic surgery clinics both within the UK and across Europe. A new European Standard on Aesthetic Surgery Services represents a significant move to address these shortcomings.

Regulating the cosmetic surgeons

In general, cosmetic and plastic surgeons who carry out cosmetic surgery at one of the private hospitals owned by UK groups such as Nuffield, BMI and Spire hospitals will hold an NHS consultant position, usually in Plastic Surgery or ENT Surgery - NHS consultants who do some private cosmetic surgery work. In contrast, many of the surgeons working for the cosmetic surgery chains such as Transform, Harley Medical Group and the Hospital Group are not NHS consultants.
The British Association of Aesthetic and Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has raised concerns about the influx of cosmetic surgeons into the UK from Europe. The BAAPS President told the Guardian, "We very often get applicants from Europe. Although they automatically get on the specialist register, the quality of training they have had is in no way equivalent to a trainee in the UK and they are often not deemed suitable for an NHS post".

According to Transform, "Qualifications obtained in other parts of Europe are at least the equal to those obtained in the UK" and said it was "completely untrue and highly misinformed" to suggest otherwise.
In June 2011, the European Commission published a Green Paper, “Modernising the Professional Qualifications Directive”. This Directive, adopted in 2005, sets the rules for mutual recognition of professional qualifications between Member States.  Consultation on this paper has now closed.

Read more about this in the full version of this blog post on IMTJ: New standards for cosmetic surgery in Europe

Cosmetic surgery tourism and the PIP implant controversy

To keep things simple, this blog has moved to the IMTJ web site. You can find the Health Tourism Blog here in future. Here's an extract of the latest blog post entitled:  Cosmetic surgery tourism and the PIP implant controversy

The PIP breast implant controversy continues to grab the headlines across Europe. Concerns have been raised by women who have had their breast implants as “cosmetic surgery tourists”. What do they do if they have received a PIP (or a Rofil M) implant in a cosmetic surgery clinic in another country? Research by Treatment Abroad shows that UK patients may be less at risk than if they had gone for breast augmentation in the UK.

It is estimated that 40,000 women in the UK have received implants manufactured by the French company Poly Implant Prostheses (PIP). PIP implants contain low grade silicone; there are concerns about the risk of rupture of PIP implants and the effect that this silicone will have on the patient.

Reaction has varied across Europe. The French government has offered to pay for implants to be removed. The Czech, Dutch and German health authorities say that the implants should be removed. The UK government has said that there is no evidence that routine removal of PIP implants is necessary. However the NHS has agreed to remove PIP implants for free if the original operation was undertaken by the NHS (usually as part of a breast reconstruction after surgery for breast cancer). It has also said that women who are concerned about their breast implants should be able to have them removed for free by their private cosmetic surgery clinic.

The reaction from the private cosmetic surgery clinics in the UK has been mixed. Many providers such as BMI Healthcare have agreed that women who wish to have their PIP implants removed and replaced will be able to do so, at no cost.

However, the company that has done the largest number of PIP implants in the UK has said that it will not replace them free of charge. The Harley Medical Group has 13,900 clients who received PIP implants between 2001 and 2010 at their 31 clinics in the UK and Ireland. At the weekend, patients marched on the offices of cosmetic surgery clinics in Harley Street demanding that private clinics replace PIP breast implants.

.....Continue reading this health tourism blog post on the IMTJ web site.

Why the medical tourism industry must do better...much better

To keep things simple, this blog has moved to the IMTJ web site. You can find the Health Tourism Blog here in future. Here's an extract of the latest blog post entitled: Why the medical tourism industry must do better...much better

Whilst the medical tourism industry continues to sing its own praises and tell itself how great it is.... consumers are telling a different story. The 2011 Medical Tourism Survey being conducted by European Research Specialists on behalf of Treatment Abroad raises some concerns about the quality of treatment and customer service that the industry delivers to patients.

As results of the latest Treatment Abroad Medical Tourism Survey 2011 come in, we’re beginning to get an idea of how patients view the medical tourism experience. So far, we’ve managed to generate 860 responses to the survey from patients who went to more than 60 countries.  Each respondent completes a fairly detailed online survey that takes them around 5-10 minutes. The results are being analysed by an external research market researcher. (Find out more about the Treatment Abroad Medical Tourism Survey 2011). The aim is to generate over 1,000 survey completions to provide valuable insight into the medical tourism experience.

We’ll be releasing the full results and report in 2012, but I have taken a look at the “story so far” provided by the research. The bad news is that since the previous survey was conducted two years ago, the industry hasn’t got any better at what it does. Initial analysis, suggests that it has got worse. Patient satisfaction levels are down. When asked:

• “How satisfied are you OVERALL with your experience of going to another country for treatment?”

...only 65% of the patients say that they are “Very Satisfied”, and 20% say they are “Quite Satisfied”.
These results are disappointing; they are well below what you see when you research satisfaction levels for patients visiting private hospitals and clinics in their own countries.

.....Continue reading this medical tourism blog post on the IMTJ web site.