General practitioners working in Dubai have been granted authorisation to practice minor cosmetic procedures following training for the first time.
The announcement was made byDubai Healthcare City Authority, the regulator of Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC).
GPs will be able to obtain a license to carry out non-invasive cosmetic procedures including, but not limited to, dermal fillers, chemical peels, cosmetic dermatology treatments, body contouring procedures and scar management. Previously, these procedures could only be conducted by plastic surgeons and dermatologists, and/or supervised GPs.
The organisation stated that DHCC-registered GPs wishing to apply for the new license must have successfully completed a recognised medical aesthetics training programme, which includes theoretical and practical components and an assessment. GPs also need to have three years of supervised experience in the field of aesthetic medicine and 200 cases of a proven track record.
For non-DHCC licensed healthcare professionals, in addition to the above, they must have a bachelor of medicine from an accredited university and have completed at least one year of supervised structured clinical training. Applicants will only be granted the license after they pass a Dubai Healthcare City Authority General Aesthetic Medicine assessment.
Aesthetic practitioner Dr Rekha Tailor commented, “‘I think that the most important thing to be taken from the changes in these laws is that Dubai is actively looking at these treatments and discussing in great depth the regulation surrounding them. Something that is a stark contrast to what is currently happening in the UK. I respect that Dubai is looking at these changes and placing patient safety as paramount – something which I believe the UK can learn from.”
