BAOMS member among first three to gain RCSEng accreditation to practise cosmetic surgery
04 October 2017 (Last updated: 5 Oct 2017 13:53)
Consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon Jerry Ryan, based at City Hospitals Sunderland, explains why he was an early adopter of self-regulation
British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (BAOMS) member Jerry Ryan, consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon based at City Hospitals Sunderland, is one of the very first cosmetic surgeons in the country to be certified by the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSEng) to practise cosmetic surgery.
“I became one of the first three applicants to go on the RCSEng register earlier this year. This is the first real attempt to control and regulate cosmetic surgery and help to give confidence and assurance to the public,” Jerry Ryan explained, calling on BAOMS colleagues: “I would encourage any Fellows with a cosmetic surgery practice to see registration as an opportunity and embrace the register.
“I made the positive choice to register because I have seen the results of very poor and sometimes highly unethical practice, and had to correct the resulting damage caused to patients”, he explained.
The move towards robust regulation in cosmetic surgery was led by RCSEng and developed in consultation with BAOMS and other specialities in the field. It followed the publication in 2013 of NHS Medical Director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh’s independent review that recommended better regulation, training and proper redress if things go wrong (DH, 2013). Self-regulation also has the support of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the regulator the General Medical Council (GMC).
“In fact, former health secretary Lord Andrew Lansley is putting forward a private members' bill to allow the Cosmetic Register to link with registrants' GMC membership”, Jerry Ryan added.
“I feel strongly that self-regulation is the start of something that will become mandatory, and I’d like to see registration extended to non-surgical practice too.”
He called for more to be done to encourage colleagues to register: “I think some surgeons back off because of the administration involved, which many think is onerous. But, everyone can access the source information, it just needs collating. The costs are really not prohibitive either – if you break down the £1,500 registration charge over the five year period it’s only £300 a year, and the course fee of £1,200 is tax-deductable too.”
Caroline Mills, BAOMS Surgical Specialty Interest Group Lead on Aesthetic/Cosmetic Surgery and consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital, supports Jerry Ryan’s call to encourage more colleagues to register: “I think more people will do it, but it’s still a very new process and it will take a little more time before we see significant numbers on the register.”
Other applications are in the pipeline and more surgeons will be on the register later this year.
How registration works
The register is classified by anatomical domains. For BAOMS members the fields are broken down into areas within the head and neck, including nose, periorbital, face, ears, or all head and neck domains. The cost of registration is £1,500, and runs in a five-year cycle based on revalidation.
To register a surgeon must be on the specialist register with a completed Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training (CCST). The applicant must submit evidence of operative exposure in the domains for certification, together with: review of complex cases: evidence of multi-source feedback (MSF); appropriate indemnity; references; scope of work; continuing professional development (CPD) evidence; and an audit of some aspect of cosmetic practice.
There are baseline numbers of procedures that must be performed in order to satisfy the requirements for accreditation in any domain, and this information is available on the RCSEng website
Applicants must also attend a two-day Professional Conduct in Cosmetic Surgery course to complete the application process, which costs £1,200.
Further information
View Other News