Aesthetic Complications Expert Group launches new website
The Aesthetic Complications Expert Group (ACE Group) has launched a new website (www.acegroup.online) and is inviting practitioners to join.The group was established in 2010 following a BACN workshop on complications in aesthetic practice and it became apparent that there was no consistent approach to the management of these complications. It was agreed that there was a need for evidence based, peer reviewed, standardised guidelines that should be freely available to all practitioners performing cosmetic procedures.
A small working party dedicated considerable time and effort to review the evidence, produce draft guidelines for submission to a wider consensus group and then publish the final documents in a widely circulated national aesthetic journal and internationally in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology. The guidelines are available for free, PubMed referenced and have received a large international interest with other countries looking to take on the same model as the ACE Group. A total of 15 guidelines have been produced so far and there are plans to extend this number and review the current guidelines as more publications and evidence appears.
Membership benefits include easy access to the guidelines, a certificate of membership, logos to use on your own material, inclusion on the practitioner map, access to expert support and advice and a closed forum to discuss cases. The ACE Group will be producing regular newsletters and CPD accredited e-learning modules available to members to help provide evidence for revalidation.
The website has a standardised form for reporting a complication and a process for informing the MHRA and manufacturers. There is far too little reporting in aesthetic medicine and it is by gathering this vital information that safety can be improved and any trends can be identified. The ACE Group strongly encourages practitioners to report complications and remind them that they have a professional obligation to do so.
The ACE Group is not for profit and all membership fees and sponsorship covers website expenses, administration, e-learning modules, meetings and workshops that are currently being developed. The cost of membership is £35 per year and there are currently over 200 members.
There are quite a few workshops focusing on complications currently being promoted at considerable expense for practitioners and lacking consistent evidence and advice. The ACE Group will provide highly-subsidised, regional workshops on the evidenced based approach to the management of complications and include resuscitation training for members that need it.
If you wish to contact the ACE Group, please email info@acegroup.online
