Queensland’s cosmetic injections directive will hit already stretched medical workforce

Rules demanding doctors be present in nurse-run cosmetic injectable clinics will only make Queensland’s medic shortage worse, doctors and nurses’ unions warn.

Medical professionals and business owners of facilities that offer cosmetic procedures have been left scrambling to learn whether they have been operating outside legislation for years, following a December directive from Queensland Health that stated all clinics must have doctor supervision.

Rules demanding doctors be present in nurse-run cosmetic injectable clinics will only make Queensland’s medic shortage worse and leave the state the most regulated region for injectable procedures in the country, doctors and nurses’ unions warn.

Medical professionals and business owners of facilities that offer cosmetic procedures – including anti-wrinkle injections, such as Botox or Dysport, and dermal filler – have been left scrambling to learn whether they have been operating outside legislation for years, following a December directive from Queensland Health that stated all clinics must have doctor supervision.

Many nurse-run injectables clinics in the state work in partnership with companies offering cosmetic telehealth services to connect clients with doctors who prescribe and supply the drugs without ever meeting face to face.

Australian Medical Association Queensland president Dr Nick Yim. Picture: Josh Woning

Australian Medical Association Queensland president Nick Yim said the state’s already stretched doctor workforce would make the direction “challenging” to implement a doctor in all cosmetic clinics. However, he noted patient safety must be prioritised.

“While our current workforce shortage may make this challenging, the solution is not to cut necessary safety mechanisms, but to prioritise bolstering our workforce so doctors and other healthcare practitioners are able to perform all necessary roles with patient safety at the forefront,” Dr Yim said.

“All patients must be protected from harm when seeking treatments from health practitioners, whether it be health or cosmetic services.

“New guidelines are being developed to protect the high number of young and potentially vulnerable people seeking cosmetic procedures.”

The concerns were echoed by Cosmetic Nurses' Association president Sheri-Lee Knoop, who said a doctor in every clinic was unachievable.

“Even if we all wanted to do it wholeheartedly, there are not enough doctors to go around,” Ms Knoop said.

“Not every nurse will find a doctor that is qualified to work in their business. Even if they could afford it, even if they really wanted to, it’s not possible.”

Queensland Health previously told The Australiana doctor did not need to administer the medicine, but it did not clarify whether one had to be on the premises.

Cosmetic Nurses' Association president Sheri-Lee Knoop. Picture: Instagram

Ms Knoop has written to Health Minister Tim Nicholls to seek further clarification.

Ms Knoop believes the directive would lead to many injectable clinics being forced to shutter or band together to remain viable, at risk of patients.

“This just poses a whole other expense and risk and demand on your business, and it will make it impossible,” she said. “Those businesses would have to amalgamate into bigger, multifaceted premises with one doctor … then treatment becomes a cookie-cutter, non-individualised process.

“At the end of all of this, you have to be economically viable, balancing medicine with business. Then you’ve got to streamline things, which means you have to see more patients, you have to see patients more quickly.”

The industry has strengthened patient protections in the cosmetic injectables space in recent years, with the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency introducing guidelines around the advertisement of particular services. Dr Yim encouraged those considering cosmetic procedures to consult their regular general practitioner.