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Call for Evidence

Breast implants and patient safety

The Women and Equalities Committee is launching an inquiry into the health impacts of breast implants and other cosmetic procedures. This inquiry will explore the safety and regulation of both surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures, including how risks are communicated and managed.  

The inquiry will also investigate current gaps in research on implant safety and the potential dangers of cosmetic tourism. 

The Committee welcomes written evidence that responds to one or more of the following questions: 

Risks, regulation and enforcement 

  • What health impacts have people experienced following cosmetic procedures (both surgical and non-surgical and including breast implants)? 
  • How effective are current informed consent processes in ensuring individuals understand the risks and long-term implications of cosmetic procedures? 
  • How effective are existing regulations in a) ensuring the safety of products used in cosmetic procedures? And b) ensuring that people delivering cosmetic procedures are adequately qualified/trained? 
  • How effective are existing bodies (e.g., CQC, MHRA, GMC) in monitoring and enforcing standards? 
  • Is further regulation required for surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures, if so, what should such regulation look like? 

Education 

  • How effective are current public education efforts in helping individuals make informed decisions about cosmetic procedures, and what improvements could be made to ensure people fully understand the risks? 

Research 

  • What are the gaps in research around the safety of cosmetic procedures, including breast implants?  

Remedy and recourse 

  • What recourse should individuals have when procedures go wrong or products are faulty, and is further legislation or regulation required to support that recourse? 

Cosmetic tourism 

  • What are the risks of travelling outside the UK to undergo cosmetic procedures and how should those risks be communicated? 
  • Should, and if so, how, can the NHS be protected from the costs of corrective treatment for procedures undertaken privately, both within and outside the UK? 

Guidance for submissions

Each submission should contain a brief introduction about the author, be relevant to the inquiry, be original (not previously published), be in a Word, ODT or RTD document (not PDF), and no longer than 3,000 words. Further guidance and information on submitting written evidence to Select Committees is available here.

Written evidence may be submitted on the basis of anonymity (meaning that it will be published, but without your name), or in confidence (meaning that it won't be published at all). If you would like to submit evidence anonymously or in confidence, you will be able to select this option during the submission process. Please also state at the beginning of your evidence which of these you want to request, and tell us why.

For further guidance, you can contact womeqcom@parliament.uk.

Deadline for submissions

The deadline for written submissions is 23:59 on 22 July 2025

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