Dozens of cosmetic injectable nurses have rallied outside parliament in Brisbane saying their businesses are facing closure after a clamp down from Queensland health. Registered nurses can no longer store certain medicines, like filler and Botox a move some in the sector say could send patients searching for illegal treatments.
00:00Megan McRae has been a registered nurse for more than 30 years, and for the past seven she's been a cosmetic injector.
00:10Now she's been told she's not qualified to open her medicine cabinet.
00:15It just seems like attacks on vanity, honestly, and an attack on women-led businesses.
00:23In December, Queensland Health clarified laws stating registered nurses in injectable clinics could not store medicines like Botox or filler.
00:33We thought we were practicing safely up until that point. We've been left scrambling to make ourselves compliant.
00:41Injectors say they were told they could hire a doctor to manage the medicines, but that would drive up prices and could cause some to turn to the black market to get cheap treatments.
00:52The other option, patients could get a script to pick up the products from a chemist themselves.
00:58That, you know, potentially opens up the market for patients injecting themselves, for, you know, selling it on themselves.
01:11Injectors took to Parliament House calling for a poison's licence to be rolled out so they could legally stock the products.
01:19Some fear without one they'll have to close. Others already have.
01:24My business has actually been put on a hold at the moment because I had a conversation with my insurer who said that while we are operating outside of the law that I wouldn't be covered.
01:33Queensland Health says there's been no change to laws or regulations, but the clarification certainly came as a shock to the dozens of cosmetic injectable nurses behind me who thought they were operating compliantly.
01:47The Health Department said safety is its top priority and it was working with injectors to ensure they're operating legally.
