Covid-19: Aesthetic clinics must close and cosmetic surgeries should be halted

[UPDATE: Since this story was written, all non-essential "retail" businesses in the UK have been ordered to close with immediate effect.]

Following the ordered closures of certain businesses last week, Government guidance now states: "The Government is now extending this requirement to a further set of businesses and other venues, including:

• all non-essential retail stores - this will include clothing and electronics stores; hair, beauty and nail salons; and outdoor and indoor markets, excluding food markets."

It is safe to assume that aesthetic clinics are, on this occasion, included under the "beauty salon" umbrella. 

It goes on to say: "As of 2pm on 21 March 2020, closures on the original list from 20th March are now enforceable by law in England and Wales due to the threat to public health. The government will extend the law and enforcement powers to include the new list of premises for closure."

The new measures will last for three weeks initially but could be extended.

Aesthetic clinics are being urged to close in a bid to protect public health amid the Coronavirus pandemic. 

While UK "spas, wellness centres and massage parlours" were ordered to close their doors on Friday, March 20 as part of Government measures to delay the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19), it is still unclear whether aesthetic clinics and beauty salons fall under this umbrella. 

Many have taken the difficult decision to close of their own accord to help protect the health of their patients, staff and themselves, but some have continued to remain open for business despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s pleas for social distancing and self-isolation measures to be observed. 

Now, the National Hairdressers’ and Beauty Federation (NHBF) is calling for beauty businesses (including, in this instance, aesthetic clinics), hairdressing salons and barber shops to be explicitly included in the mandatory closure ruling. 

Given that the nature of the job makes it impossible to observe social distancing guidelines, the NHBF believes aesthetic and beauty businesses should close immediately to help in the national efforts to delay the spread of the virus. 

The hair and beauty professional membership organisation has urgently contacted Government officals including Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s private office, the Department for Work and Pensions, Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Alok Sharma, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, seeking urgent clarification and asking for salons and clinics to be added to the list of closures immediately. 

The NHBF was assured its request would be passed on to Downing Street in time for this morning’s briefing (Monday, 23 March), with a definite answer likely to come this week. 

All cosmetic surgery should be halted, says Confederation of British Surgery

Meanwhile, the Confederation of British Surgery (CBS), the only UK trade body representing surgeons across all specialties, is urgently calling for all cosmetic practice to cease. 

The CBS has issued escalated protective guidelines to its members following reports of surgeons being admitted to intensive treatment units with Covid-19. Ear, nose and throat specialists and anaesthetists are known to be ill with the virus and some are reportedly on ventilators. 

High-risk professionals including plastic surgeons who work in close proximity to patients’ faces and mouths, are being urged to adopt new, stringent controls. For plastics, this means an immediate stop to all cosmetic procedures. Surgeons and their nursing staff and anaesthetists are instead being asked to support the NHS with relevant procedures such as those involving skin cancer, hand injuries or soft tissue injuries, in order to help alleviate the burden caused by Covid-19. 

CBS founding member and consultant plastic surgeon Mark Henley said: “This is not ‘business as usual’… As a Plastic surgeon I will be doing everything that I can to support my anaesthetic and other medical colleagues whose skills are currently much more needed than mine, but we as clinicians need every bit of help we can get from the public.

“If everyone engages in social distancing, there is the prospect that in two weeks the rate of increase in cases will start to slow but it won’t be immediate. Together in this manner we will be slowly turning off the tap,  which will be excellent because at the moment we are just wiping the floor.  

“We have not seen an endpoint yet and we have accepted that NHS resources and reserves will be tested severely. NHS employers should be fully aware of their duty to provide the necessary equipment and training to allow employees to keep themselves safe. 

The Confederation of British Surgery has complete confidence that although there may be transient local difficulties, everyone involved is doing their utmost to overcome this attack on our way of life.

“Further, I am asking all plastic surgeons and any other individuals and organisations engaging in all forms of cosmetic practice to put this on hold for now and to make themselves, their nursing and anaesthetic staff and any appropriate facilities available to support the NHS in this time of national emergency – possibly providing services to undertake NHS plastic surgery practice dealing with skin cancer, hand surgery and soft tissue injuries.”

Find out exactly what financial help and support is available for businesses forced to close, plus HR and staff advice, here.