Enhancing safety and quality in cosmetic surgery: New standards and recent updates

In June 2024, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission) released an update on the actions and standards for the National Safety and Quality Cosmetic Surgery Standards (Cosmetic Surgery Standards) – initially released in December 2023. These standards aim to elevate the quality and safety of cosmetic procedures across Australia, ensuring all facilities performing cosmetic surgeries adhere to the highest levels of clinical governance, infection control, and patient care.

Cosmetic surgery involves invasive procedures to change the appearance, colour, texture, structure, or position of normal bodily features, often involving cutting beneath the skin. It is distinct from non-surgical cosmetic procedures, reconstructive surgery, and procedures with medical justification. The new Cosmetic Surgery Standards provide comprehensive guidelines to enhance the safety and quality of cosmetic surgical services, ensuring consistent, high-quality care and patient satisfaction across the sector.

 

Overview of the Cosmetic Surgery Standards

The standards consist of seven key areas addressing critical aspects of healthcare delivery in cosmetic surgery:

1. Clinical Governance
2. Partnering with Consumers
3. Preventing and Controlling Infections
4. Medication Safety
5. Comprehensive Care
6. Communicating for Safety
7. Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration

 

These standards apply to all facilities where cosmetic surgery is performed, from small clinics to large health organisations, with accreditation to these standards likely to commence early 2025.

 

Detailed breakdown of standards and actions

The Cosmetic Surgery Standards encompass a total of 101 actions across the seven standards. Specifically:

• Clinical Governance includes 26 actions focusing on leadership, culture, risk management, and continuous quality improvement.
• Partnering with Consumers involves 13 actions to ensure effective consumer engagement, decision-making, and feedback mechanisms.
• Preventing and Controlling Infections contains 18 actions emphasising hygiene protocols, infection monitoring, and staff training.
• Medication Safety comprises 12 actions aimed at maintaining accurate medication records, safe administration practices, and patient education.
• Comprehensive Care includes 12 actions to ensure all patient needs are addressed through individualised care plans, coordinated care, and post-operative support.
• Communicating for Safety involves 10 actions to establish clear communication protocols and thorough documentation practices.
• Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration consists of 10 actions for monitoring systems, rapid response protocols, and staff training.

All facilities where invasive cosmetic procedures/surgery is performed will need to implement these actions in line with the Cosmetic Surgery Standards. Accreditation to these standards does not include non-surgical cosmetic procedures such as cosmetic injectables. Reconstructive surgery and procedures with medical justification are also exempt, with examples including breast reconstruction following a mastectomy or rhinoplasty to correct a structural problem.

 

Relationship with the NSQHS Standards

The Cosmetic Surgery Standards are aligned in structure and intent to the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards (second edition), which are implemented in all Australian hospitals and day procedure hospitals.

Where cosmetic surgery is performed in a service already accredited to the NSQHS Standards, that service will continue to be assessed to the NSQHS Standards and will also be required to implement and be assessed to a small number of actions from the Cosmetic Surgery Standards, that address the specific safety and quality risks unique to cosmetic surgery.

This mechanism will enable a service to demonstrate compliance against both the NSQHS Standards and the Cosmetic Surgery Standards, while undergoing only one assessment process.

All safety and quality standards developed by the Commission are reviewed periodically to ensure they reflect contemporary practice and evidence. Relevant changes to the NSQHS Standards will flow to other safety and quality standards as they are updated.

 

Cosmetic Surgery Module

For organisations already accredited to the NSQHS Standards, the Cosmetic Surgery Module integrates seamlessly and includes an additional five standards and 20 actions not covered by the NSQHS Standards, including:

1. Clinical Governance (8 additional actions)
2. Partnering with Consumers (6 additional actions)
3. Medication Safety (3 additional actions)
4. Comprehensive Care (2 additional actions)
5. Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration (1 additional action)

  

Compliance

The Commission is working with state and territory governments to ensure cosmetic surgery is conducted in appropriately licensed facilities that are accredited to the NSQHS Standards. State and territory regulators will determine any specific definitions to be applied in this context, consistent with their jurisdictional licensing schemes.

 

Support and resources

The introduction of the new Cosmetic Surgery Standards marks a significant step forward in ensuring high-quality, safe cosmetic surgery for all Australians. Compliance with these standards will lead to better patient outcomes, enhanced trust in cosmetic surgery services, and a stronger healthcare system overall.

QIP provides comprehensive support, including personalised guidance and an ongoing partnership throughout the accreditation process.
 
Subscribe to our Cosmetic Surgery Standards mailing list by filling out the form below to receive timely updates and accreditation information directly in your inbox.