Cosmetic surgery sector is like the wild west

29.06.22 | News
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Johannes Jansson/norden.org
The Committee for Welfare in the Nordic Region recommends that the Nordic governments tighten up their legislation so that only professionals in the health sector are allowed to perform cosmetic procedures. The aim is to improve patient safety.

“In parts of the Nordic Region, the cosmetic surgery sector is like the wild west because people without the right professional health expertise can perform procedures. This can be dangerous for the patient and must be stopped,” says the committee’s spokesperson Eva Lindh. That’s why the Committee for Welfare in the Nordic Region has made the following recommendations to the Nordic governments: 
 

  • determine and align regulations and laws regarding cosmetic injections and other surgical cosmetic procedures with the purpose of ensuring that only health professionals may administer cosmetic injections in order to protect individuals.
     

The proposal has been put forward by the Social Democratic Group in the Nordic Council and was adopted today at a meeting of the Committee for Welfare in the Nordic Region in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Patient safety must come first 

There are several places in the Nordic Region where it is not illegal for a patient to have cosmetic surgery performed by a someone who is not a health professional. However, the patient’s insurance won’t cover any mistakes or complications that could occur. Similarly, in several Nordic countries, the authorities conduct no checks on who carries out these procedures. 

In parts of the Nordic Region, the cosmetic surgery sector is like the wild west because people without the right professional health expertise can perform procedures. This can be dangerous for the patient and must be stopped.

 

Committee spokesperson Eva Lindh

Approaches differ in each of the Nordic countries

The legislation concerning cosmetic surgery differs in each of the Nordic countries. In Finland, botox requires a prescription and injections of botox must be administered by a doctor or specially trained healthcare professional, whilst other cosmetic procedures don’t require the same expertise. In Sweden, the authorities have recently introduced the mandatory registration of cosmetic procedures and introduced requirements that injections may only be administered by licensed doctors, dentists, and nurses. However, in Norway injections can be administered by people who simply belong to a professional group in the health sector.  

Committee for Welfare in the Nordic Region

The focus of the Committee for Welfare in the Nordic Region is on the Nordic welfare model. The committee strives to find solutions that are both sustainable and cost-effective. The committee has a wide-ranging remit. It addresses topics such as social care for children, young people and the elderly, disability, alcohol, drugs and other abuse issues, gender equality, civil liberties, democracy, human rights, the war on crime, integration, migration and refugees, housing policy, and the indigenous peoples of the Nordic Region.