An Auckland clinic specialising in laser hair removal has been told to issue a written apology to a client after she was forced to seek medical advice for burns to her face.
The New Zealand Herald reports the woman went to Laser Clinics New Zealand in Takapuna, Auckland in January 2021 for a session of laser hair removal, a procedure where pulses of light are delivered to the skin to damage the hair follicle, eventually delaying or inhibiting its regrowth.
After suffering the burns, the woman was unable to work the following day and sought medical advice four days later, filing a complaint with the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC).
In a decision published by the deputy Health and Disability Commissioner on Monday, Dr Vanessa Caldwell acknowledged the therapist who treated the woman was likely rushed due to the clinic's "short turnaround time between clients" and due to her stress, had forgotten to alter the machine's settings to ensure they were appropriate for the complainant's skin tone.
"While I acknowledge a potential factor in the error by the beauty therapist was the short turnaround time between clients, forgetting to alter the machine settings to ensure they were appropriate for the woman's skin tone was a significant error with a severe outcome," Dr Caldwell said.
In her decision, Dr Caldwell found the therapist in breach of the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights for using incorrect laser settings in her treatment of the woman, resulting in the "severe" burns to her face.
Dr Caldwell also considered that the skincare products recommended and provided to the woman following the treatment - retinal and a glycolic scrub - were inappropriate for use on burned skin and could have inflicted further damage.
As per the ruling, the customer had questioned the clinic as to how the burns had occurred, but it was not until after she made her complaint that she was informed an incorrect setting had been used during her treatment.
The therapist did not provide services with reasonable care and skill, Dr Caldwell concluded. She also found the clinic in breach of the Code for misleading the woman and avoiding accountability for the error made by the therapist.
"Under the Code, every consumer has the right to information a reasonable consumer, in that consumer's circumstances, would expect to receive," the deputy HDC said in her ruling.
"This includes details of how adverse events occurred and I am critical of the clinic for failing to inform the woman about the cause of her burns once it became known. An error was made that caused her harm, and it is unacceptable that this was not disclosed to the woman."
She also criticised the working environment at the Takapuna clinic that contributed to the poor outcome suffered by the woman.
"The clinic has a responsibility to ensure staff have a supportive and well-resourced working environment to complete procedures. Unfortunately, in this situation the strain on staff contributed to the harm caused to the woman," Dr Caldwell said.
In the decision, the deputy HDC advised the therapist to provide a written apology to the client and recommended that if she returns to the role in the future, she should undertake further training on providing the service to a range of skin tones, as well as additional training on burns and aftercare.
She also recommended the laser clinic provide a written apology to the woman, as well as review its booking system to consider whether longer breaks between clients would prevent stress on therapists. Additionally, she said the clinic should consider providing guidance to staff on how to manage customer requests for additional treatments to what they had booked.
The clinic has also been advised to enforce protocols regarding the appropriate products to give to a consumer in the event of a reaction, as well as providing training sessions for staff on the important of catering the service to a range of skin tones and responding to burns and the appropriate aftercare.
Using different settings for different patients is crucial as not all skin tones can be treated with the same lasers. Michelle Henry, MD, a board-certified dermatologist, told Cosmopolitan that the wrong setting can prove dangerous for deeper-skinned patients as the laser can have difficulty distinguishing between darker skin tones and dark hair, putting the client at risk of blisters, scarring and hyperpigmentation.
Typically, laser hair removal works best on clients who have dark hair and lighter skin, but recent advancements have also made the procedure safe for darker skin tones if used correctly.
