CHELMSFORD is now home to the world’s first practice-based degree in plastic surgery.

Anglia Ruskin University has launched the degree in aesthetic plastic surgery which has been established with the aim of increasing standards in cosmetic surgery.

The MSc in Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery Practice will be run from Anglia Ruskin’s Postgraduate Medical Institute, in Chelmsford.

At the moment all UK-qualified plastic surgeons are trained by the Royal College of Surgeons to a competency level which allows safe surgery management with the type of work carried out in the NHS, but this does not include cosmetic surgery.

James Frame, professor of aesthetic plastic surgery at Anglia Ruskin, said: “Aesthetic plastic surgery is a rapidly enlarging, super-speciality that requires recognition in its own right. “The primary intention of developing this qualification is to improve patient safety and raise public awareness through best practice.

“At present a newly-qualified, fully-accredited plastic surgeon is released, totally lacking any experience in aesthetic plastic surgery, and is able to operate in the private sector. “This degree will benefit surgeons and therefore should improve the quality of surgery that patients receive.”

According to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, 43,069 procedures were carried out in the UK last year, an increase of 5.8 per cent on 2010. Boob and nose jobs, neck and face lifts, and eyelid surgery were the most popular procedures in 2011.

Professor Frame added: “If aesthetic surgery is recognised as a speciality, with its own qualification, then clearly the public will benefit because it will help them to easily identify and employ a qualified surgeon. “At present there are too many under-qualified surgeons, particularly from elsewhere in the EU.

“The low price of flying abroad for cosmetic surgery can also be appealing but poor aftercare is a serious issue and the NHS spends millions of pounds each year rectifying problems caused by people undergoing cosmetic surgery outside the UK.”

The course is open to all accredited plastic surgeons based in the UK, with the first beginning in September.