England’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) proposed limiting cosmetic surgery to doctors and expanding oversight of other high-risk treatments, changes that could improve patient safety while raising clinics’ costs.
Under the proposal published Oct. 21, filler injections outside the face, including liquid Brazilian butt lifts, would count as cosmetic surgery. Providers would have to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), England’s health and social care regulator, and use doctors to perform those procedures. The restrictions remain proposals and are not in force.
CQC registration would also be required for providers of specified nonsurgical treatments, including deep chemical peels, blood-derived procedures, intravenous treatments and certain laser procedures. Those treatments would be limited to doctors, dentists and qualified independent-prescribing nurses, midwives and pharmacists.
The draft would generally bar covered procedures for cosmetic or wellbeing purposes for people under 18. National Health Service care and treatment of a medical condition by a healthcare professional would fall outside the proposed restrictions.
The department says the proposal would close a gap in existing oversight. CQC registration is currently required when a healthcare professional performs cosmetic surgery, but providers using non-healthcare practitioners can fall outside that requirement. England already restricts some cosmetic injections for people under 18 under a 2021 law; a separate licensing scheme for lower-risk treatments remains planned.
A provider or registered manager convicted of allowing an unauthorized practitioner to perform a covered treatment, or breaching the proposed age limit, could face an unlimited fine. Fixed penalties offered instead of prosecution would be £4,000 for a provider and £2,000 for a registered manager.
DHSC expects stronger safeguards for patients but says the changes could reduce treatment availability and raise prices. Clinics could face registration and staffing costs, while eligible healthcare professionals could gain work. The department has limited data on how many businesses or procedures would be affected. Health Minister Karin Smyth said of major cosmetic procedures, “you deserve to know you’re in safe hands.”
The department plans to bring the regulations before Parliament in spring 2027 and then allow providers time to seek registration. It has set no start date for the restrictions. Comments close on Jan. 13, 2027.
