Premises, indemnity and redress

5.6.1Premises

The straightforward version: in England there is no general requirement that premises offering injectable cosmetic treatment be registered, licensed or inspected. Some providers are within the scope of Care Quality Commission registration because of the regulated activities they carry out, and many are not. Section 180 of the Health and Care Act 2022 contains a power to introduce premises licensing, which as far as we are aware has not been brought into force.

Elsewhere in the United Kingdom the arrangements differ. Healthcare Improvement Scotland regulates independent clinics within its defined scope. Healthcare Inspectorate Wales regulates independent healthcare in Wales. The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority does so in Northern Ireland. In each case the scope depends on the nature of the service and who provides it.

Separately, some local authorities operate special treatment licensing under local legislation, and its scope and enforcement vary considerably from one authority to another. It is worth asking the clinic whether they hold any local authority licence, because in some areas they will and in others no such scheme exists.

5.6.2Indemnity

Registered healthcare professionals must have appropriate indemnity arrangements in place as a condition of their registration. That is a regulatory requirement and it is enforceable through the regulator.

For practitioners who are not on a healthcare register there is, as far as we are aware, no equivalent general legal requirement. Many hold insurance because it is commercially sensible and because some venues and membership bodies require it. Some do not.

The question to ask is direct: do you hold medical indemnity or professional insurance that covers this procedure, and with whom. A practitioner who holds it will answer immediately, because they have a certificate. This matters because an uninsured practitioner facing a claim may have nothing to meet it with, and a legal right you cannot enforce against anybody is not much of a right.

5.6.3The redress routes, assessed plainly

The clinic's own complaints process

The first step and often the most effective. Put it in writing, factually, with dates. Ask for their complaints procedure and for a copy of your record. Many disputes resolve here.

A professional regulator

Available only if the practitioner is on a professional register. This addresses fitness to practise rather than compensating you, and it is the route that leads to a practitioner being restricted or removed. It is not a route to getting your money back.

A premises regulator

Available only if the premises are within the scope of one. The regulators listed above have concerns routes.

The Advertising Standards Authority

If the issue is what you were told before treatment rather than what happened during it. Free, open to anyone, and rulings are published.

Consumer law

Services must be performed with reasonable care and skill. Where they are not, consumer law provides remedies including repeat performance or a price reduction. Citizens Advice publishes accessible guidance on how this works in practice and what evidence helps.

A negligence claim

The route to compensation for harm. It requires establishing a duty, a breach and resulting damage, it takes time, and its practical value depends heavily on whether the defendant is insured. This is a matter for a solicitor and not for a website.

The MHRA Yellow Card scheme

Reporting a problem with a device. Not a redress route at all, and included here so that it is not mistaken for one. It contributes to surveillance data and does nothing for your individual situation.

5.6.4Establishing this before rather than after

All of the above is much easier to sort out if you asked five questions before treatment.

• Which professional register are you on, and what is your number?
• Is this practice registered with or inspected by any regulator?
• Do you hold indemnity insurance for this procedure, and with whom?
• What is your complaints procedure?
• Who do I contact if there is a problem out of hours?

None of those is an unusual question and all of them have short answers. A practice that finds them uncomfortable has told you a great deal about what the redress position would look like if you needed it.

5.6.5The paperwork worth keeping

Your consent form and any written information you were given. The treatment record, including product, batch number, volume and areas. Receipts. Any written communication, including messages. Standardised photographs before and after. And the date and name of the person who treated you.

Data protection law gives you a right of access to personal data a clinic holds about you, and the Information Commissioner's Office publishes guidance on how to make such a request and what to do if it is refused. That right exists regardless of how the relationship with the clinic has ended.

5.6.6A realistic summary

If you are treated by a registered healthcare professional, in premises within a regulator's scope, who holds indemnity insurance, you have a reasonably complete set of routes if something goes wrong. If you are treated by an unregistered practitioner, in unregulated premises, without insurance, your routes are consumer law and a negligence claim against someone who may have nothing to pay it with.

That difference is not visible from a website, a price list or a treatment room. It is established by five questions asked before you book, and it is the single strongest argument for asking them.