- New online campaign to give people clear, reliable advice
before travelling overseas for cosmetic or medical
treatments.
- It aims to raise awareness of the risks, protect patients and
reduce costs for the NHS of fixing botched procedures.
- Part of wider government initiative to improve safety of
cosmetic treatments.
Patients who use social media to help plan cosmetic procedures
will now be able to access more reliable trustworthy information
thanks to a landmark new initiative between the government and
TikTok.
More people are using social media apps like TikTok to research
potentially risky operations - like hair transplants and dental
work - abroad as they are often cheaper or more readily available
than in the UK but are often presented with slick marketing
campaigns that do not highlight the dangers of the surgery.
To help keep these patients informed, TikTok and the government
have partnered with medical influencers, like Midwife Marley and
Doc Tally to create content to show the risks, help carry out
thorough research and provides advice on how to make trips as
safe as possible.
The Foreign Office will also provide more detailed travel advice
for those seeking to travel abroad for ‘tweakments.'
Health Minister said:
Too many people are being left with life-altering injuries after
going abroad for medical procedures, without access to
proper advice or safeguards.
Often drawn in by deals too good to be true and promoted by
influencers – some of whom have never been to the practice in
question.
By partnering with TikTok, we're helping people make safer, more
informed choices before they go under the knife – wherever that
may be.
Through our Plan for Change, we're determined to protect
patients, ease pressure on the NHS and make sure taxpayers are
not left paying the price when things go wrong.
The campaign warns that when it comes to cosmetic surgery abroad,
the lowest price can come at the highest cost.
It urges people to think beyond the slick brochures and
marketing, and to consider clinical standards, complication
risks, and language barriers.
It will urge potential patients to speak to a UK doctor, take out
travel insurance, and steer clear of package holidays that bundle
in procedures. The medics will provide a check list to go through
before considering booking a procedure abroad: research
thoroughly, check the clinic's regulation and the surgeon's
credentials, know the full cost, understand the aftercare, and
ask the vital question - if it goes wrong, who will fix it?
The online campaign is part of wider government efforts to curb
medical tourism. Work is underway to stop events in the UK that
promote procedures abroad and the government is working with
other countries to improve patient care from initial
consultations to post-surgery recovery.
The government is looking at additional ways of protecting
patients who go abroad for these types of procedures, while
ensuring the NHS is not left to pick up the tab of botched
or harmful work.
The move follows the announcement last week to crack down on
dodgy cosmetic practitioners in England. The new regulations will
mean the highest risk procedures, such as non-surgical Brazilian
Butt Lifts (BBLs), can only be carried out by qualified,
specialised healthcare professionals, registered with the Care
Quality Commission. The measures also include developing a
licensing scheme for lower risk procedures like Botox and
fillers, alongside introducing minimum age restrictions.
Minister Doughty, Minister of State for Europe, North America and
Overseas Territories:
Our aim is to explain the risks and help British people
understand the actions they can take to keep themselves safe when
abroad.
If you choose to travel abroad for medical treatment, it is vital
you do your research and are fully aware of the risks involved.
We urge anyone considering a medical procedure abroad to review
our travel advice, relevant guidance from the NHS and other
professional bodies, and research foreign providers thoroughly to
ensure they meet the highest standard of care.
Informed choices today can help avoid serious complications
tomorrow.
Ali Law, Director of Public Policy, Northern Europe said:
At TikTok we are committed to providing our community with
information from trusted sources when searching for topics
related to physical and mental health.
We're pleased to work with the government on this new initiative
to improve the safety of people going abroad for treatment and we
will continue to promote credible content through our Clinician
Creator Council made of NHS practitioners.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office has also updated
its online travel advice advising people on how to stay safe when
traveling abroad for medical or cosmetic reasons.
This work will help improve patient safety and reduce costs for
the NHS by reducing the number of people needing medical support
when things go wrong, providing greater value for the taxpayer
and reducing pressure on staff.
