A beauty clinic has been found to have failed in giving a customer enough information to give informed consent for laser hair removal she received.
A new report from Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Dr Vanessa Caldwell found the clinic breached the right to be fully informed and the right to make an informed choice and give informed consent.
The woman purchased a voucher for what she believed to be an intense pulsed light (IPL) hair removal treatment for her underarms. But instead, during the appointment in October 2019, the clinic treated the woman's underarms with a laser hair removal treatment and the woman sustained an injury following this. The report said while it hasn't been possible to determine the cause of her injury, her complaint raised "a number of issues" with the care she received at the clinic.
Dr Caldwell said the woman wasn't given sufficient information to make an informed choice about the procedure she was set to receive.
She also discussed the right for consumers to have services provided in compliance with legal, professional, ethical, and other relevant standards. In particular, the clinic, as an employer, had a responsibility to ensure that its staff were aware of and complied with the requirements of the Auckland Council Health and Hygiene Code of Practice.
This requires providers to identify and record the customer's medical history and suitability for the service, obtain a signed consent form from the customer, and provide the customer with written advice regarding the precautions and post-service procedures appropriate to the procedure.
Dr Caldwell said the clinic in question didn't ensure that services were provided to the woman in accordance with relevant standards, and therefore the clinic breached part of the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights.
"The clinic as an employer needed to have systems in place to ensure that its employees had the appropriate skills and knowledge to carry out treatments safely, that appropriate information about the client's suitability for treatment was obtained and documented," Dr Caldwell said.
Dr Caldwell recommended the clinic provide the customer with a written apology for breaching the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights and to develop a system to identify which employee has performed each treatment.
She also recommended all staff undertake further training in Auckland Council Health and Hygiene Bylaw 2013 and associated Code of Practice, and the Australia New Zealand Standard for the laser machine operation, and create policies for staff to follow in line with these standards.
