Nadine Dilong Closures due to COVID-19 may lead to illegally and unsafely performed cosmetic procedures.
The Cosmetic Physicians College of Australasia (CPCA) has today released an official statement voicing their concern about a minority of doctors and nurses still performing cosmetic procedures, such as anti-wrinkle injectables and fillers, despite the government’s shutdown of all non-essential services.
“The Cosmetic Physicians College of Australasia emphasises to the public that to continue performing pure cosmetic medical procedures at this time is defined by the profession as ‘non-essential’. At this moment, any cosmetic procedure that results in community transmission of COVID-19, may result in the death of persons who otherwise might well have survived infection and avoided the ultimate penalty of loss of life. Stay home, stay safe, stop injecting,” the statement reads.
Despite this clear message, the CPCA reports a minority of practitioners who are still offering treatments, often in unsafe and unofficial surroundings, such as private homes or hairdressers. They also note that the government’s decision to allow hairdresser to remain open while other beauty services have been shut may contribute to people’s decision to keep practicing, comparing hair services to other services that are purely cosmetic.
“There are anecdotal reports of these procedures still being performed in hairdressers and in people’s homes, by persons, and to persons, who have an unknown status of COVID19.”
“There are anecdotal reports of these procedures still being performed in hairdressers and in people’s homes, by persons, and to persons, who have an unknown status of COVID19.”
With many practitioners having experienced a rush of clients wanting to get their treatments done in the days before shutdown, it is likely many are getting urged to keep offering treatments even after they have closed their doors. However, the CPCA condemns any practitioner who decides to do so despite warnings of COVID-19 transmission.
The College further explains that body dysmorphia and a concern for a patient’s mental state if they’re not treated is not reason enough to ignore bans and continue treatments.
“Australian Cosmetic Physicians place a strong emphasis upon methods of detecting affected patients who suffer from a wide array of psychological disorders, from BDD, OCD, Borderline Personality to name only a few. Patients with BDD should not be treated with cosmetic procedures in any case, but referred for psychological assessment to a specialist Psychiatrist,” says President of the Cosmetic Physicians College of Australasia, Dr Michael Molton.
Edit: It is important to note that it is not yet illegal to perform cosmetic treatments such as injectables in certain states within Australia as the lines of ‘essential VS non-essential services’ are blurred and it is therefore up to each practitioner to decide whether they will continue to treat clients or not.
