In new legislation that came into force this Monday, the GMC has called a ban on the practice of remote prescribing for independent nurses delivering Botulinum Toxin injectible treatments. This means that any aesthetic nurse who is not a qualified nurse prescriber can no longer provide these treatments within a skin care or beauty therapy clinic unless a doctor has personally seen and consulted with the client to generate a named prescription for that individual.

For many aesthetic nurses this means that their practice of acquiring prescriptions remotely via a non-attendant doctor for the administration of muscle relaxant injectibles is outside medical law and therefore no longer tenable. It is equally unacceptable for doctors to be consulted by telephone, video conference or post treatment and any clinic or individual practitioner providing this type of service will be operating illegally against the GMC specified practice.

The impact on indemnity insurance cover is inevitably to follow and nurses or doctors continuing to practice in this way are liable to be removed from the GMC or NMC register.

So what is the way forward for a clinic or salon owner wishing to continue to provide injectibles to their clientele?

Firstly check with your nurse practitioner. If he or she holds the NMC V300 Nurse Prescriber qualification (and ask to see this certificate) then all is well and nothing needs to change. However if this is not the case the clinic will need to source an alternative practitioner who is either a doctor, dentist or prescribing nurse.

In summary therefore, it is not the end of the line ……

The new GMC ruling against medical aesthetic treatment in a beauty therapy environment does still allow clients the choice to have their treatments in this type of establishment if provided by properly qualified medical professionals. Clinic owners will however need to reassess their practitioner qualifications and possibly look for alternative personnel. Daunting as this may be there is help out there to ensure that clinics can find the injectors they need and be assured of their professional integrity.

Source: Aesthetic News