The Australian Commission of Safety and Quality in Healthcare has released their National Safety and Quality Cosmetic Surgery Standards for all services and facilities in Australia where cosmetic surgery is carried out.
What are these standards?
These are expectations of every service where cosmetic surgery is carried out in Australia, to protect the public from harm and improve the quality of cosmetic surgery.
Any surgery should take place in a facility that is licensed and meets these standards. The standards do not include non-surgical cosmetic procedures (e.g. injectables) at this time.
What do the standards cover?
The standards include expectations for:
- Clinical governance i.e., the service is well-run and continuously making improvements.
- Partnering with consumers i.e., you get a say in how a service is delivered to you.
- Infection control i.e., minimises risk of infection.
- Medication safety i.e., medication risks are assessed and minimised.
- Comprehensive care i.e., the service provides comprehensive and multidisciplinary care which includes assessing psychological suitability for surgery.
- Communication i.e., good communication between team members and other healthcare professionals.
- Responding to acute deterioriation e.g., in the event of a complication or poor health, you’ll receive timely clinical care.
How do these standards address psychological safety of patients?
These standards include a range of expectations which cover physical safety and the practice environment, but also emphasise psychological wellbeing.
Regarding comprehensive care, the standards emphasise:
“The Service has processes to assure itself that clinicians conducting cosmetic surgery assess a patient’s suitability for the cosmetic surgery and is informed by:
a. A patient’s general health, including psychological health and other medical conditions that may impact suitability for cosmetic surgery
b. Where available, information from a patient’s referring clinician
c. The patient’s goals
d. Outcomes of independent psychological assessments when further assessment is undertaken
and that:
The Service has processes relevant to the patient accessing cosmetic surgery for integrated and timely screening and assessment”
These changes are in line with recent updates to the Medical Board Guidelines for medical practitioners accessing cosmetic surgery.
Many facilities and services have already implemented streamlined psychological screening processes using our ReadyMind software, allowing timely identification of mental health concerns or patient risk factors, and referral to mental health professionals for further assessment and management if indicated. Get in touch to find out how we can help you implement these standards and uphold best practice in your clinic!
