HM IHAS News

Sally Taber outlines what work is being done to reduce the amount of paperwork choking the healthcare sector

This month Baroness Ritchie of Brompton, Chair of the Treatments You Can Trust Governance Group hosted a Parliamentary reception to promote the organisation, which has been set up to develop a register of approved cosmetic injectable providers.

The recent events at Morecambe Bay, Winterbourne View and Mid Staffordshire (amongst others), show a recurring theme; people witnessed wrongdoing and tried to speak up, but were ignored, gagged or bullied into silence. Under the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) of 1998, individuals making a disclosure in good faith are protected from any consequences suffered as a result of their disclosure. In light of the above scandals, it is clear that PIDA has not worked. In February 2013, Public Concern at Work (PCaW) established a Whistleblowing Commission to examine existing provisions for whistleblowers and how these could be updated to amend PIDA’s shortfalls. IHAS has examined the material published by PCaW, and has identified a number of flaws and omissions in current whistleblowing legislation, as stated in the IHAS response to the PCaW consultation.

Patient safety is under threat unless providers adhere to Independent Healthcare Advisory Services (IHAS) policy positions on advertising cosmetic surgery and cosmetic treatments.

The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) recently issued a radically revised Help Note on Cosmetic Interventions, following the Keogh Review’s remarks on the laxity of practices in this sector. IHAS welcomes the new stringency and was pleased to advise on their formulation.

The updated complaints process, the Independent Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS), which the Independent Healthcare Advisory Services (IHAS) provides the administration and Secretariat to, is used by many healthcare service providers.

The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) first quarterly report shows that 82% of all independent acute and mental health providers are meeting all the CQC’s essential standards.

The Department of Health’s Review of the Regulations of Cosmetic Interventions has called for evidence to assist it in its deliberations. There are two areas where IHAS is working on behalf of its members and will submit unique evidence.

In the recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) State of Care Report 2011/12 widespread coverage was given to the NHS and Care Homes, but the good results in the independent acute sector went un-remarked. We point out here some key indicators for the independent acute sector, quoting from the CQC report.

The Independent Healthcare Advisory Service (IHAS) welcomes the recent publication from the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) Professional Standards for Cosmetic Surgery. The standards clearly state that only registered doctors, dentists and nurses should be carrying out cosmetic injectable procedures and only appropriately qualified doctors carry out invasive cosmetic surgery. This position directly supports Treatments You Can Trust, the IHAS website to guide those thinking of having injectable cosmetic treatments. IHAS does not believe standards go far enough in defining the qualifications required to undertake cosmetic surgery and also believe that there are occasions and certain types of procedures when others apart from those three professions could use class 3B and Class 4 lasers in cosmetic practice. Therefore the standards come with a number of cautions and concerns about the content in relation to other areas of cosmetic interventions.