JCCP Update from our Business Development Director | SkinViva Training
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JCCP Update from our Business Development Director

by Lee Cottrill

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Business Development Director

In the interest of keeping you everybody fully informed about what’s happening in the wider marketplace, Lee Cottrill has prepared an update on the JCCP for Aesthetics Practitioners and those considering entering the industry.

SkinViva Training’s Business Development Director has a unique insight into the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners (JCCP). He shares his insight in three key sections:

  1. What’s the JCCP?
  2. What are the big issues on everyone’s mind?
  3. What is our position on the JCCP?

In the interest of keeping you all in the loop with what’s happening in the wider marketplace, I wanted to share an update on the JCCP with you.

What is the JCCP?

  • A voluntary, managed register for specific aesthetics treatments
    • It took up the challenge set by Health Education England in 2016 (mandated by Department of Health)
    • It was required to cover non-medical persons as well as medical professionals as some of the cosmetic treatments crossover into both ‘worlds’ and because of a lack of data to exclude non-medical persons from certain treatments. They therefore operate one register for medical professionals and one register non-medical persons.
    • Launched in March 2018.
  • Their aim is to put standards and registration into the aesthetics sector that prove competency and proficiency for each practitioner in the interests of public safety and that will form the basis of a statutory register in the future.
  • The Joint Council currently cover 5 treatment modalities:
    • Laser & Light
    • Hair Restoration
    • Botulinum Toxin (BOTOX®)
    • Dermal Fillers
    • Skin Rejuvenation
    • In the future, more treatment modalities will be covered e.g. fat freezing.
  • Qualification requirements range from Level 4 to Level 7 on the academic and vocational frameworks.
  • Botulinum toxin (BOTOX®) and dermal fillers both sit at Level 7 in terms of qualification requirements. Permanent fillers are not in scope.

What are the big issues on everyone’s mind?

  1. Will this lead us to regulation?
    The government declined to regulate the sector originally based on a lack of evidence (no data) to highlight the problem-set (e.g. adverse reactions / complications). The hope is that the work of the JCCP and sister body CPSA will lead to robust data collection (as tasked by the government) which will lead to regulation between 2 to 5 years’ time.
  2. “Will the market be flooded with beauty therapists doing Botox?”
    Beauty therapists are already legally injecting because the UK government has failed to regulate the sector. The JCCP feels it’s better to register as many as possible (rather than leave unregulated with questionable training) but they will have to work through qualifications from Level 3 to 7 and will not be able to skip any of the levels. Level 7 is post-graduate level and so it is likely that only a very small proportion of beauty therapists will be progressing to this level for injectables. Until regulation arrives however there will be nothing to stop non-medical persons from injecting irrespective of the JCCP.
  3. Why does a medical professional need to be on another register when they already have regulators e.g. GMC?
    The main argument offered is that being a medical professional does not automatically give a person competence or proficiency in cosmetic treatments. The JCCP therefore represents a way of proving your competence and knowledge in an area where there is currently no central body to do so in the interests of patient safety.
  4. Will the public know of the JCCP or even care?
    It’s not currently common in our experience for patients to ask about regulators (or even to probe into the experience or qualifications of practitioners). To begin with, the JCCP will be unheard of. However, it is hoped that through the Joint Council working with key partners that it will be able to raise public awareness such that patients begin to care about the backgrounds and experience of the persons carrying out their treatments.
  5. How will practitioners be inspected?
    Initially, practitioners will join the provisional register. They will then have 2 years to submit evidence that they have met the standards of the JCCP (for areas like educational standards, premises standards, and clinical standards) in order to attain full registration status. The standards are comprehensive and will represent a big step for many practitioners. Self-audits will initially be relied upon for some aspects however as the JCCP builds its revenues (as a not-for-profit organisation) it is hoped that site inspections will become a formal part of registration.
  6. Who are the JCCP working with?
    The JCCP now has formal memorandums of understanding with some major bodies including OfQual and the GMC – both of these organisations are extremely engaged and have been making offers of help. Despite its current bad PR image (due to the non-medical issue at Level 7), the JCCP has got the ears of some very significant people and organisations (including the Department of Health). We therefore believe this constitutes a very serious effort to achieve the ultimate goal of regulation and without a doubt is the most significant attempt to do so that has been seen in the market thus far.

What is SkinViva Training’s position on the JCCP?

  • SkinViva Training intend to join the JCCP Education and Training Register during 2018 subject to seeing and approving the Education and Training Standards which are due to be released in May 2018 and subject to the JCCP approving us as a training centre.
  • We recognise that the JCCP is not without controversy and is not what we would have liked, but we do believe it’s our best shot at achieving much-needed regulation.
  • We believe that by joining the training register we can encourage practitioners to join the practitioner register and take the opportunity to prove the quality of our training against independently verified standards.
  • We expect it will take some time to become fully compliant with the standards the JCCP is likely to be looking for however we welcome the opportunity to work towards new ways of working and continuous improvement.
  • We are concerned that the £450 fee to join the JCCP register is too high and we hope to see a reduction in this fee as the Council establishes itself. We will be proposing that SkinViva’s team and customers should benefit immediately from a reduced rate.
  • Furthermore, we’re hopeful that the Joint Council will look to develop a robust framework which recognises only regulated qualifications for practitioners at all levels 4-7 as a means of providing assurance of standardisation and quality.
  • SkinViva Training does not support non-medical persons carrying out medical treatments such as botulinum toxin (BOTOX®) and dermal fillers and so we feel the Joint Council is not perfect in this respect. However we recognise that the terms of the Department of Health were to be ‘inclusive’ in order to provide a robust evidence base for the sector which can be used in the years to come to finally provide statutory regulation. Despite this we will also be submitting a request for the JCCP to approach the Department of Health to ask them to reconsider the non-medical issue for Level 7/Injectables.
  • Our own team of practitioners are welcome to apply for registration of the JCCP either through SkinViva or independently however are by no means required or requested to do so.

More JCCP Articles from SkinViva Training

More information on formation and development of the JCCP can be found in previous news items on this website:

SkinViva Training Academy Manchester

SkinViva Training Ltd offer a range of professional training courses for cosmetic and medical skin treatments. Their courses in cosmetic treatments directed at suitably qualified medical professionals* who wish to learn and build on their skills in delivering these procedures (*subject to meeting SkinViva Training’s entry criteria).

See our full list of forthcoming training course dates.

SkinViva Training Academy was established in 2013 by Dr Tim Pearce MBChB BSc (Hons) MRCGP – learn more about us. The SkinViva Training Academy team upholds high standards of clinical training providing a combination of fully-supervised practical experience together with essential theory.

For further information, to discuss which course is right for you, to enquire about availability or to book a training course please call 0161 850 2491, or email info@skinvivatraining.com.

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