Australia: National cosmetic surgery standards needed for patient safety

More than 100,000 doctors in Australia hold the right to call themselves cosmetic surgeons, without having undergone the specific training to be competent and safe.

President of the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery and Medicine Dr Patrick Tansley says cosmetic surgery does not form part of the traditional medical training undertaken in Australia, due to the practice being relatively new.

“Society has moved faster than legislation has followed it,” he told Sky News Australia.

Dr Tansley said he is advocating for the introduction of a national standard to endorse this area of practice in Australia, where doctors would be placed on a public register for patients to review their accreditation.

“Once they had met those standards and then were endorsed, they could be placed on a public register, independently administered by the regulator AHPRA.

“And the public would then be able to see, with clarity and transparency, which of those doctors have been trained and accredited in cosmetic surgery.”

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Source: Sky News, 23 April 2022