Rules on cosmetic clinics ‘not in place until 2021’

NEW laws which could see private cosmetic surgery clinics closed down if they don’t meet certain standards, will not be in place until 2021, the Health Minister has said.

However, Simon Harris has signalled that he intends to push the new laws through the Dáil this year, in order to ensure that there is a ‘lead-in time’ for all hospitals and private practices to become accustomed to the new rules.

The Irish Daily Mail revealed last month that Mr Harris had received Cabinet approval to draft a new Bill which would apply to public and private hospitals, and make it an offence to run such a place without a licence. Speaking to the Mail about his plans, he said: ‘You need a licence in this country to own a dog, the idea that you could come to Ireland and set up a cosmetic clinic and not require a licence is entirely inappropriate.’

However, the new rules will not be in place until around 2021 as providers will need time to bring themselves up to the required standards.

‘This has been talked about for over a decade, and this Bill will mean that if people go to a hospital or a private hospital or a plastic surgeon, that they know the standards are there and the State has the ability to retract a licence.’

Hiqa will be the licensing authority, processing applications and monitoring performance of licence holders. Where necessary, it will have powers up to, and including, the cancellation of a licence.

In 2011, plastic surgeon Marco Loiacono was struck off after he was found guilty of professional misconduct over a surgical procedure on Kate Murray, 33, in the Cosmedico Clinic in Co. Wicklow in 2008.

She was left ‘horribly physically and mentally scarred’ after a failed breast augmentation procedure.