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■本港美容業界競爭激烈，標榜醫療專業的美容服務日漸增多。圖為「DR醫學美容集團」美孚分店。資料圖片
Differentiation between "medical" and "beauty" services is essential to tightening control on the beauty industry
4名女子於「DR醫學美容集團」銅鑼灣分店接受靜脈點滴療程後，出現敗血性休克，其中3人危殆。本港美容業界競爭激烈，標榜醫療專業的美容服務日漸增多，當中不少涉及高風險醫療技術。由於本港並未就醫學及美容範疇作嚴格區分，讓美容公司可以利用監管灰色地帶，提供具高風險的醫療服務，但又未具備醫療機構應有的設施及人手，增加意外風險。當局必須徹查事故，嚴格區分醫療和美容服務，將具有醫療性質的美容服務納入專業的醫療規管範圍，防止事故再次發生。
現時美容業界競爭激烈，美容店為招徠生意，往往自稱結合醫學，標榜專業權威。不少市民為追求漂亮外表或改善身體機能，隨時會誤信廣告，以為有關服務由正規的醫療機構進行，不惜花費大量金錢光顧。然而，這些機構是否具備專業水平卻令人懷疑，部分簡陋的美容院打出「專業」招牌，但實際上卻沒有正規的醫療團隊。同時，其聲稱能修復人體各部位及容貌，是否經嚴謹科學驗證仍是疑問。有關員工服務因缺乏統一監管良莠不齊，一旦遇上意外亦難以追究責任。
Four women suffered from septic shock after they received intravenous drip treatment in the Causeway Bay shop of DR Beauty Centre. Three of them were in critical condition. The beauty industry in Hong Kong is highly competitive and this has triggered the mushrooming of beauty services which publicize themselves as providing professional medical treatments. Many of these in fact involve high risk medical technology. As there is no clear distinction between medical and beauty services in Hong Kong, some beauty companies take advantage of the grey area and offer high risk medical services without employing the necessary equipment and experts of medical institutions. So the risk of accidents increases. The authorities must investigate the incident thoroughly and draw a clear distinction between medical procedures and beauty services. Beauty services with a medical nature should be categorized as regulated professional medical treatments to prevent similar cases from happening again.
Today, there is keen competition in the beauty industry. In order to attract customers, some beauty shops claim that they integrate their beauty services with medical technology and publicize themselves as authorities in the field. Many of the people who yearn for good looks or improved physical abilities will readily fall for these advertisements. Wrongly believing that the related services are to be undertaken by formal medical institutions, these people are willing to pay large sums of money to buy the services. However, whether these organizations have attained the required professional standard remains doubtful. Some poorly equipped beauty salons which advertise themselves as "professional" in fact do not possess a formal medical team. Some who claim that they can restore various body parts and human face in fact have no proof on whether their treatments have passed certain stringent scientific examinations. Due to the lack of centralized control, the standard of service provided by individual employees can vary a lot in terms of quality. Once an accident occurs, it will then be difficult to track accountability.
■Translation by Tung-ming (tungming23@gmail.com)
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