Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- A-E assessment (Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure)
- A structured order for checking and treating a seriously unwell patient, dealing with the most life-threatening problems first.
- Adrenaline
- An emergency medicine injected into the muscle to treat a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis).
- Adverse event
- Any unexpected or unwanted occurrence linked to a treatment that harms, or could harm, a patient.
- Anaphylaxis
- A severe, life-threatening allergic reaction needing immediate emergency treatment.
- Angioedema
- Rapid swelling beneath the skin, often around the face, lips or throat, which can be part of a serious allergic reaction.
- Best interests
- A decision made for someone who cannot decide for themselves, choosing the option that is best for them.
- Biofilm
- A thin, stubborn layer of bacteria that can form around a filler or implant and cause persistent infection or inflammation.
- Blood-borne virus (BBV)
- An infection such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV that can be passed on through blood.
- Botulinum toxin
- A prescription-only medicine injected to relax muscles, commonly used to soften facial lines.
- Bronchospasm
- Sudden tightening of the airways that makes breathing difficult, which can occur in a severe allergic reaction.
- Caldicott Guardian
- The senior person responsible for protecting the confidentiality of people's health and care information.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Cellulitis
- A spreading bacterial infection of the skin and the tissue beneath it that usually needs antibiotics.
- Clinical governance
- The system through which an organisation monitors and improves the quality and safety of the care it provides.
- Complication
- An unwanted clinical outcome of a procedure that can happen even when it is carried out correctly.
- Dermal filler
- A gel-like substance injected under the skin to smooth lines or add volume.
- Diplopia
- Double vision; seeing two images of a single object.
- Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
- A criminal-records check showing whether a person is suitable to work with patients or vulnerable people.
- Duty of candour
- The legal duty to be open and honest with a person and their family when something goes wrong with their care.
- Dysphagia
- Difficulty or discomfort in swallowing.
- Energy-based device
- A machine that treats the skin using energy such as laser light, radiofrequency or ultrasound.
- Fundamental standards
- The minimum standards of safety and quality below which care must never fall.
- General Dental Council (GDC)
- The body that registers and regulates dental professionals in the United Kingdom.
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- The body that registers and regulates doctors in the United Kingdom.
- General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
- The body that registers and regulates pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Great Britain.
- General practitioner (GP)
- A doctor who provides everyday medical care in the community, often a patient's family doctor.
- Granuloma
- A small lump of inflamed tissue the body forms in reaction to a substance such as a filler.
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
- The national body responsible for regulating and enforcing workplace health and safety in Great Britain.
- High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)
- A device that uses focused sound waves to heat and tighten tissue beneath the skin.
- Hyaluronidase
- A medicine that dissolves dermal filler, used urgently if a blood vessel becomes blocked.
- Infection prevention and control (IPC)
- The measures used to stop infection spreading between patients, staff and visitors.
- Information governance
- The framework for handling people's personal and health information legally, securely and appropriately.
- Informed consent
- Agreement to treatment given freely after the risks, benefits and alternatives have been clearly explained.
- Intense pulsed light (IPL)
- A skin treatment that uses broad-spectrum light, for example to treat pigmentation or unwanted hair.
- Intramuscular
- Given by injection directly into a muscle.
- Just culture
- A workplace approach that focuses on learning from mistakes and system failures rather than simply blaming individuals.
- Local anaesthetic
- A medicine that numbs a small area of the body so a procedure can be carried out without pain.
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
- The United Kingdom body that regulates medicines and medical devices and runs the Yellow Card reporting scheme.
- Mental capacity
- Whether a person can understand and make a particular decision for themselves at the time it needs to be made.
- Microneedling
- A treatment that uses fine needles to make tiny punctures in the skin to encourage repair and renewal.
- Near miss
- An event that could have caused harm but did not, by chance or because it was caught in time.
- Necrosis
- The death of body tissue, for example when its blood supply is cut off.
- Never event
- A serious, largely preventable safety incident that should not happen if the right precautions are in place.
- Nominated Individual
- The senior person responsible to the regulator for supervising how a service is provided.
- Notifiable safety incident
- An incident causing certain levels of harm that, by law, a provider must be open about with the patient under the duty of candour.
- Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
- The body that registers and regulates nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom.
- Ophthalmology
- The branch of medicine dealing with the eyes and their disorders.
- Ophthalmoplegia
- Weakness or paralysis of the muscles that move the eye.
- Patient Group Direction (PGD)
- A written instruction letting named staff supply or give a medicine without an individual prescription.
- Personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Items such as gloves, aprons and masks worn to protect against harm or infection.
- Pharmacovigilance
- The ongoing monitoring of medicines to detect, assess and prevent harmful side effects.
- Polynucleotides
- Injectable substances used in aesthetic treatments to support skin repair and quality.
- Prescriber
- A healthcare professional legally authorised to decide on and order medicines for a patient.
- Prescription-only medicine (POM)
- A medicine that may lawfully be supplied only on the instruction of an appropriate prescriber.
- Ptosis
- Drooping of an upper eyelid.
- Radiofrequency
- A device that uses radio-wave energy to heat the skin or deeper tissue, often to tighten or remodel it.
- Registered Manager
- The person registered with the regulator as responsible for the day-to-day running of a service.
- Regulated activity
- A type of care or treatment the law requires a provider to register with the regulator to deliver.
- Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR)
- The law requiring certain workplace injuries, diseases and dangerous events to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive.
- Risk assessment
- A structured check identifying what could cause harm and what is being done to prevent it.
- Root cause analysis (RCA)
- A structured investigation that looks beyond the immediate event to find the underlying reasons it happened.
- Safeguarding
- Protecting people's health, wellbeing and rights and keeping them safe from abuse, harm or neglect.
- Secondary care
- Specialist medical care, usually provided in a hospital after referral.
- Serious adverse event
- An adverse event causing death, lasting or major harm, or needing emergency treatment or hospital admission.
- Sharps
- Needles, blades and other items that can cut or puncture the skin.
- Single assessment framework
- The structure the regulator uses to judge a service, built around quality statements and five key questions (safe, effective, caring, responsive, well-led).
- SMART action plan
- An improvement plan whose actions are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
- Statement of Purpose
- A required document describing who a service is, what it does and where, shared with the regulator.
- Subject Access Request (SAR)
- A person's legal right to ask for a copy of the personal information an organisation holds about them.
- Triage
- Sorting and prioritising cases according to how urgent or serious they are.
- UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- The UK's main data-protection law governing how personal information is collected and used.
- Urticaria
- An itchy raised rash (hives) that can appear as part of an allergic reaction.
- Vascular occlusion
- A blockage of a blood vessel, for example by filler, which can starve tissue of blood and become an emergency.
- Yellow Card scheme
- The United Kingdom system for reporting suspected side effects of medicines and problems with medical devices to the regulator.