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 UK 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 UK 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.
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The Foreign Office will also provide more detailed travel advice for those seeking to travel abroad for ‘tweakments.’
Health Minister Karin Smyth said: ‘’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?
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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.
