Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a statutory register of hair transplant surgeons.

At present, there are no plans to introduce statutory registers for doctors performing cosmetic surgery, as a robust regulatory framework is already in place.

Only doctors registered with the General Medical Council (GMC), the regulator of doctors in the United Kingdom, can perform surgical procedures, including hair transplant surgery. All registrants are required to meet the standards set out by the GMC in Good Medical Practice. Where these standards are not met the GMC can take action to protect patients from harm through the fitness to practise process.

In England any hospital or clinic offering cosmetic surgery must also be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Any provider of surgery must meet the CQC’s fundamental standards of safety and quality – or risk enforcement action.