Safe Hair Transplants
A hair transplant clinic in Windsor has been shut down for breaching infection control practices. Providing safe hair transplants should be one of the most important principles of any hair transplant clinic. Clearly this clinic had made some serious errors. In this blog we explore how we make hair transplants as safe as possible for patients worried about infections.
What did the Windsor clinic do wrong?
A report by Windsor-Essex County Health Unit stated that the hair transplant clinic had breached infection control practices. This means they had put patients at risk of infections by potentially NOT doing the following:
- Washing and sterilising their surgical instruments in-between different patients
- Cleaning their surgical room regularly
- Disposing clinical waste safely
What is infection control?
Infection control is about preventing healthcare-associated infections. These type of infections can affect patients or healthcare professionals (e.g. hair transplant surgeons and nurses). For a hair transplant clinic this means providing safe hair transplants by:
- Using autoclaved- sterilised surgical instruments
- Having protocols on how safe and high quality transplants are carried out
- Putting policies and procedures in place for preventing infection and checking everyone in the team is compliant with them (e.g. washing hands)
- Making sure the patient’s hair follicles are kept in a sterile environment
What happens to the clinic’s patients?
If you have visited The Treatment Rooms London for your hair transplant you will know how much our team goes to great lengths to ensure you get personalised care. Every patient starts their hair loss journey with us and we stay with them for life.
Sadly, for patients who were treated by the Windsor clinic they no longer have a hair transplant clinic to look after them. Secondly, they also have been advised to seek urgent help from their GP. This is because they may have been affected by dirty surgical instruments and they could be infected with:
At The Treatment Rooms London we are reminded of the incredibly sad NHS disaster whereby patients were given contaminated blood products. Many have gone on to be infected with HIV and Hepatitis. For those affected we understand this must be very upsetting. To find out where you local GP is please click here.
How can you ensure you have a safe hair transplant?
As we have discussed before in our blog about the 5 considerations you must take before deciding on a hair transplant, you must take your time to find out as much as you can about your hair transplant clinic.
One check you can do is see if the hair transplant clinic has been registered by the CQC (Care Quality Commission). This regulatory body works to ensure safe, quality clinical practice in every healthcare clinic including hospitals. By registering with the CQC, the hair transplant clinic has gone through the rigorous safety and quality checks that the CQC regulates under the Health and Social Care Act.
Secondly, you can check whether your surgeon is registered with the British Association of Hair Restoration Surgery (BAHRS) and General Medical Council (GMC). These professional associations mean your hair restoration surgeon is regulated and operates to their strict codes of conduct.
If you are worried about your hair loss and want to seek professional advice about safe hair transplants, then please contact our Hair Transplant surgeons today. Click here to fill out an enquiry form!
References
- https://windsor.ctvnews.ca/hair-transplant-clinic-customers-warned-of-potential-infection-breach-1.4211771
- https://www.qcs.co.uk/infection-control/
- https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/best-way-to-wash-your-hands/
- https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/healthcare-associated-infections/
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-44671153
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