This had left cosmetic surgery patients traumatised after complications including punctured lungs,seizures,cardiac arrest,liver lacerations,sepsis,disfigurement,lifelong chronic pain,excessive bleeding,psychological trauma,nerve pain,numbness and even death,he said.
Butler said in a statement he had been appalled by the “disgusting” behaviour of some cosmetic surgeons and had put the regulation of the sector on the agenda of health ministers.
“Australians seeking these treatments should not be misled by medical practitioners,non-specialist surgeons or those without appropriate surgical training,” he said.
“Further regulation of this industry will be discussed at future health ministers’ meetings.”
Medical regulation expert Dr Margaret Faux said the exposé of alleged misconduct by cosmetic surgeons,many without surgical qualifications,revealed the “regulatory tangled mess” behind Australia’s health system.
She said the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA),which is supposed to protect patients,was “broken”.
“It’s so poorly targeted,” Dr Faux said. “Their work is focused in the wrong place,so good doctors are being destroyed.”
Medical regulation expert Dr Margaret Faux said the exposé of alleged misconduct by cosmetic surgeons,many without surgical qualifications,revealed the “regulatory tangled mess” behind Australia’s health system.Credit:Janie Barrett
She said the legislation governing Australia’s health system contained too many vague rules that could be challenged in court,making it harder to pursue “cashed-up,lawyered-up” doctors.
Patient advocates Michael Fraser and Maddison Johnstone have established a working group to make a case to government for a royal commission into health regulation.
“The importance of having a royal commission,as opposed to a parliamentary inquiry,is that it has power to compel,” Fraser said.
“There is a lot of harm being done to the public that we don’t see every day because we don’t know the true scale of complaints that are made,that are settled through medical insurance.”
The group will bring together Dr Faux,University of Melbourne professor of surgery Mark Ashton,nurse-turned-whistleblower Justin Nixon and a “prominent” member of the legal fraternity.
Anindependent review of cosmetic surgery set up by AHPRA and led by former Queensland Health ombudsman Andrew Brown,triggered by an earlier joint investigation by theHerald,The Age and the ABC’sFour Corners,is due to report this month. Its findings will be published next month along with AHPRA and the Medical Board of Australia’s response.
Controversial legislation thatwill lift a ban on patient testimonials,which patient advocates say are being exploited by cosmetic surgeons,has been delayed until after the AHPRA inquiry and to give time to develop “guidelines and educational material” on their appropriate use.
Loading
ASAPS is campaigning for “surgeon” to become a protected title restricted to use by doctors who have completed surgical training,which includes a minimum of 12 years’ medical
and surgical education,including at least five years of specialist postgraduate training.
State,territory and federal health ministers are considering submissions to a review of medical practitioners’ use of the title “surgeon” and are due to decide on the issue by next July.
An AHPRA spokeswoman said it was “clear that more needs to be done to keep the public safe” and the review would enable the regulator to better understand what it could do to “reduce risk and help consumers to make more informed and safer choices”.
“Our ability to take action against a practitioner principally relies on a complaint being made to us,” the spokeswoman said.