James Partridge responds to the government’s review of cosmetic surgery
There was more than a little bit of déja vu about the government’s response to the Keogh review of cosmetic surgery when it finally saw the light of day, early last Thursday.[1]
A bunch of us were led into a Department of Health underground room and given the embargoed report … I can recall receiving just such an embargo in the spring of 2005 before the Cayton report emerging on precisely the same issues (now buried deep in the government archives).[2]

Sadly, as I sat and read the report, I reflected that the same problems still remain intractable and very little had really improved since 2005. I was unimpressed: the government’s response to Keogh lacked a strong commitment to enhance patient information, ensure psychological assessment, and reduce advertising excesses, and failed to grip safety concerns firmly enough.

Changing Faces had submitted evidence to the Keogh inquiry set up in the wake of the PIP scandal back in 2012, which eventually reported in April 2013. So we are pleased that the government has agreed with “the overwhelming majority of the Keogh recommendations.” But we are unconvinced that the actions it proposes to take are purposeful or speedy enough to tackle the major problems revealed by Keogh’s review and exposed by the PIP debacle.