Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 December 2004
6 Mr. Wall asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the action she intends to take arising from the serious concerns expressed by the Medical Council regarding non-resident cosmetic surgeons operating here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31577/04]
View answerThe Medical Council is the independent authority charged with primary responsibility for the registration and regulation of medical practitioners. The function of the council is to protect the public through implementing appropriate controls on the medical profession. Doctors practising medicine should be registered with it.
Persons who avail of the services of doctors performing cosmetic procedures should endeavour to seek the services of reputable institutions. When invasive procedures are being arranged in so-called cosmetic clinics, persons are strongly advised to check that the services are provided by a medical practitioner appropriately registered with the Medical Council. In addition, before agreeing to undergo any procedure, persons should ascertain the level of follow-up medical support which will be available to them after the surgery has been completed.
It is an offence under the Medical Practitioners Act for a doctor to falsely represent himself or herself to be a registered medical practitioner when he or she is not registered. Registration is required to sign medical certificates and issue prescriptions for certain categories of drugs. In addition, doctors are not entitled to recover in legal proceedings fees charged for the provision of medical or surgical advice or treatment given when they were not registered.
I recently met a delegation from the Medical Council to discuss a number of matters relevant to the current and future system of regulation of the medical profession. Among the issues discussed was that of cosmetic surgical procedures and the requirement for appropriate follow-up medical care for patients who undergo these procedures. The delegation outlined to me its concerns regarding the operation of cosmetic surgery clinics. It is my intention, in the context of upcoming legislation, to actively examine ways to address the issues raised by the Medical Council.
I thank the Minister for her answer. Although she gave some indication of the position, the beginning of her reply reminded me of the advice agony aunts give to those considering cosmetic surgery. Does she agree that when the president of the Medical Council states there is "dangerous stuff going on" the person responsible for the protection of patients, namely, the Minister for Health and Children, must act?
The number of clinics promoting cosmetic surgery and laser treatment has mushroomed. Ireland has become a magnet for companies selling laser equipment in many cases to people who have little or no training in how to use it. The reason is that the market here, unlike that in many other countries, is unregulated. I ask the Minister to examine this issue immediately. The surgery involved can have a negative impact on patients and the clinics in question do not generally provide after-care. In some cases, patients whose operations have gone wrong have found that no after-care is available. This is a serious matter which must be swiftly addressed.
I agree with the Deputy. We do not have legislation on the licensing of private clinics and the Government has no authority in the matter. In addition, the Medical Council does not have power to intervene until it receives a specific complaint. These appear to be two deficiencies in the current regulatory environment. I discussed with the Medical Council the need to address these deficiencies in the new legislation. We must do so effectively and cognisant of our responsibilities under European directives and so forth.
This area relates to vulnerable categories of people who assume, when they see the word "doctor", that the person is a registered practitioner, which is not always the case. Heretofore, the law has been deficient in giving the Medical Council, the regulatory body — I support self-regulation in this area — the necessary powers to intervene on behalf of patients. We will provide for such intervention in the new legislation.
To which legislation is the Minister referring?
The relevant legislation is the Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Bill.
In that case, we could wait for a long time.
No, I hope to have the heads of the Bill soon. Considerable progress has been made on it.
As regards unregistered medical practitioners, of which there are a few, I am aware of two cases which have resulted in deaths and the people concerned have had no comeback. The cases in question concerned a person who stopped taking medication on the advice of the unregistered practitioner in question and another with a cancerous tumour of the neck who stayed away from the medical profession, also on the advice of this practitioner. What steps is the Minister taking to address this matter?
The Deputy is correct that the Medical Council has no role in cases of unregistered medical practitioners. This is the reason we must examine the issue of licensing facilities. It is not acceptable that a person can set up an establishment, advertise cosmetic surgery or laser or other treatment without authorisation or a licence. This could have serious implications for public health or the health of individual patients. We will probably deal with the facilities aspect of the issue through licensing.
