Registered Nurse and qualified aesthetics practitioner, Donnamarie McGrillen, has welcomed news that Stormont is to undertake a review of the regulations around non-surgical cosmetic procedures in Northern Ireland.
Nurse Donnamarie McGrillen, owner of Vermilion Cosmetic Clinic located on the Saintfield Road in South Belfast said: “Despite the demand and continued growth, the non-surgical cosmetic industry is almost entirely unregulated. Unfortunately, this means that treatments, such as anti-wrinkle injections and dermal fillers, are being carried out by unqualified practitioners who do not have the correct, or any, training and experience. These people are also putting patients at further risk of serious complications by using cheap, non-FDA-approved products, which some are purchasing online.”
As a passionate advocate for the regulation of the industry, I issued a plea to the Department of Health last year to take serious steps to regulate the aesthetics industry and help put a stop to patients being put at risk. I welcome the news that Stormont is to now undertake a review of the regulations around non-surgical cosmetic procedures. However, with the current political crisis Northern Ireland is currently facing, I hope this will not impact the timeframe for when this review is carried out. There is a lot of work to be done to regulate the local industry here and every day that passes, cosmetic treatments are being carried out by people without training, in a non-clinical environment.
As a patient focused clinic, people’s safety must always come first and I am committed to ensuring the highest standard of care at Vermilion. I’ve lost count at the number of people who’ve contacted me seeking help and corrective work for procedures they’ve had carried out that have gone wrong because they went to someone who wasn’t qualified,” Nurse Donna-Marie added.
“Vermilion Clinic is a member of Save Face, the National Register of Accredited Practitioners who provide non-surgical cosmetic treatments. I would encourage all licensed practitioners throughout Northern Ireland to become accredited with Save Face to make it harder for unlicensed or unregulated people to provide treatment. I would advise anyone considering an aesthetics procedure to do their research and only go to a reputable and qualified practitioner,” Donna-Marie urged.
