NEW: Harley Academy Aesthetics Referral Centre Complications Service

Harley Academy’s new complications management service, the Aesthetics Referral Centre, gives practitioners a specialist safety net. From protocols to assessing and treating your referrals, this subscription ensures the support you need is always just a few clicks away.

Complications are more common than many aesthetic practitioners admit. And they’re also costly to both an injectors’ reputation and their bank balance.

• 83% of reported filler complications involved practitioners who weren't qualified to prescribe the dissolving agent (Source: SaveFace 2024 audit)
• In one Hamilton Fraser claim involving botulinum toxin treatment, a complication led to long-lasting health issues for the patient. £359,146 was paid in total, including legal fees associated with the claim (Source: Hamilton Fraser)
• The year-one cost of independent readiness for complications management is around £7,500 to £12,800 before anything even goes wrong (Source: Aesthetics Referral Centre commercial analysis).
  

A complication is every aesthetic practitioner's worst moment, even for the most experienced clinicians. As part of our remit to elevate patient safety, our new Harley Academy service aims to make sure nobody faces one without support. 

So how does the Aesthetics Referral Centre work? And what does it involve? Let us explain… You can also scroll down to watch an enlightening discussion on the realities of complications management as an aesthetic practitioner, with senior members of the Harley Academy faculty. An interesting watch, whatever your experience level!

What is the Aesthetics Referral Centre?

The Aesthetics Referral Centre is both a subscription service for medical aesthetics professionals, and a physical aesthetics clinic where patients can be assessed and treated by our specialist team.

When you’re a sole aesthetic practitioner, or are just getting started in this industry, you may not have the network to be able to refer patients onwards should a complication arise. You may also not know how to properly identify certain issues, especially with some of the more unusual presentations. When this happens, you don’t want to scare your patient nor burden the NHS by sending them to A&E, but where do you turn if your network isn’t there yet.

The Aesthetics Referral Centre was established with this in mind. It’s a safety net, from a trusted team, that’s accessibly priced so you can put it in place before you need it. This also allows you to take full advantage of our indispensable resource library, packed with protocols and documentation templates.

Subscription service for complications prevention and management

Firstly, it’s a subscription service for aesthetic practitioners that connects medics to a multidisciplinary, Harley Academy clinical team. They’re ready to support both you and your patient from the moment something goes wrong following a non-surgical cosmetic procedure. 

In the heat of the moment, this service is designed to take the weight off you, with no judgement. We take over and your patients get expert attention, before being discharged back into your care. 

Whether it’s a complication from an injectable treatment, or a complex case you need help with, or just a second opinion on, the Aesthetics Referral Centre is here for you. 

But it’s not just in those panicked moments once something’s actually gone wrong that you feel the benefits of being a subscriber. Every subscription comes with a wealth of resources to help ensure your aesthetic practice is as prepared as possible. Because, as the saying goes, “Success is where preparation and opportunity meet”.

London-based aesthetic complications referral clinic near Liverpool Street

Secondly, it’s a physical complications clinic where subscribers can refer their patients. The Aesthetics Referral Centre is based within Harley Academy London’s Copthall Avenue location, a short walk from Liverpool Street, Bank and Moorgate stations. 

What aesthetic complications do you treat?

The Aesthetics Referral Centre offers outpatient services relating to non-surgical medical aesthetic treatments and procedures to face and neck. 

Most commonly, we manage botox and filler complications from both urgent and routine cases. These include but are certainly not limited to:

• Vascular compromise, such as vascular occlusions
• Displaced filler
• Acute inflammatory reactions
• Lid ptosis
• Infections
• Spocking (mephisto sign following botulinum toxin).

We also welcome referrals for complex cases or challenging patients, as well as those presenting with adverse outcomes. Our team is highly experienced in dealing with complex cases and complications management, so whatever your situation, they’re here as your back-up.

Cases which cannot be referred to this centre are those which require urgent, emergency attention, acute hospital assessment or specialist inpatient management.  

Why did Harley Academy create the Aesthetics Referral Centre service?

Dr Tristan Mehta, Founder & CEO of Harley Academy explains the simple premise, as follows.

“No one enters this specialty expecting to cause a complication, but every aesthetic practitioner faces one at some point, whatever their skill or experience level. That's not something to feel ashamed of, and it's never something you should face alone,” he says.

“We built the Aesthetics Referral Centre so there's always somewhere to turn. A full multidisciplinary team supports both patient and practitioner, with no judgement, from referral through to discharge. 

“Keeping it affordable was deliberate, because a safety net only works if everyone can reach it. This was the logical next step for Harley Academy as part of our mission to raise standards through evidence-based aesthetic education and accessible support.”

Partnership with Hamilton Fraser, specialists in aesthetic insurance

Harley Academy has partnered with Hamilton Fraser, specialists in aesthetic and cosmetic insurance. This partnership brings together specialist insurance, evidence-based education and our new Aesthetics Referral Centre complications service. It also sees Harley Academy being added to Hamilton Fraser'sGold Partner programme, which brings together established aesthetics training providers that share its commitment to raising standards and promoting safe, ethical practice across the sector.

How much does it cost to manage complications as an aesthetic practitioner?

As we’ve highlighted above, there are significant costs involved in being properly prepared to manage complications as an aesthetic practitioner, before they even happen.

Industry analysis conducted by the Aesthetics Referral Centre team found the year-one cost of independent readiness for complications management to be around £7,500 to £12,800 before having managed a single issue. 

Hamilton Fraser reported dealing with a claim involving botulinum toxin treatment, where a complication led to long-lasting health issues for the patient. This resulted in a total of £359,146 being paid, including legal fees associated with the claim.

If you’re a non-prescriber, a cosmetic nurse without a prescribing qualification, or a pharmacist working as an aesthetic practitioner, for example, there’s the additional cost of working with an emergency prescriber. A 2024 SaveFace audit found that 83% of reported filler complications involved injectors who weren't qualified to prescribe the necessary dissolving agent.

With these figures in mind, we wanted to ensure reasonable subscription prices for the Aesthetics Referral Centre, so the service is truly accessible. 

Below we’ll explore each element of our new referral arm, which extends Harley Academy’s renowned evidence-based aesthetic education capabilities into complex case and complications management.

What does an Aesthetics Referral Centre subscription include?

The part of the subscription that injectors tend to find most enticing is the ability to refer patients to our specialists. But, whilst it’s less attention-grabbing, the immense protocol and policy content subscribers get access to carries significant weight.

An annual subscription allows you to do the following:

• Access a vast clinical governance, policy and protocol library of downloadable PDFs
• Use a convenient and easy-to-use online platform to access information, support and refer patients
• Refer patients any time, 24/7 via a private online portal, at no cost to the patient
• Have these patients imaged, assessed and, where appropriate, treated by our team at our London clinic, during urgent clinic hours (9am - 6pm, Monday to Friday)
• Get a full audit-ready, clinician-signed discharge summary stored in your portal
• Have us support you and your patient through this process, with the comfort of knowing we do not solicit your patients. They remain yours.

How much does a subscription cost?

An annual subscription to the Aesthetics Referral Centre costs £1,095 + VAT per year when paid up front. That’s the equivalent of £3 per day.

For an annual contract where the subscription is paid monthly, over a consecutive 12 month period, the price is £99+VAT per month. 

The benefits outlined above are all included in this subscription fee with one exception. Where the situation warrants it, especially in particularly complex cases, our team may deem it necessary to bring in additional experts or access specialist equipment for your patient. In these scenarios, there may be additional costs incurred. You’ll be kept informed at every stage, however.

Who can join the Aesthetics Referral Centre?

You don’t have to be a trainee or graduate of Harley Academy to take out a subscription. The Aesthetics Referral Centre has been designed for healthcare practitioners who:

• Have a current, valid registration with the relevant professional regulatory body (such as the GMC, GDC, NMC, GPhC or HCPC)
• Hold current medical malpractice/professional indemnity insurance that is adequate for the aesthetic treatments they perform
• Have completed foundation training in aesthetic medicine and the appropriate training for all the treatments and services they offer.

My patient has a complication, how do I refer them to you?

Here's how it works. 

• An aesthetic practitioner with an active subscription to the Aesthetics Referral Centre spots a complication
• After logging on to their member portal, they submit a short referral form with treatment details and photographs
• Their patient then receives an instant booking link, with no triage queue and no waiting around, and the clinician is kept informed throughout
• Named specialists from our Harley Academy faculty then assess and treat the patient
• Once discharged, the patient returns to their original practitioner's care, with a full summary provided. And this is all covered by the subscription fee.

How do I find out more about the Aesthetics Referral Centre?

You can visit AestheticsReferralCentre.com for more information and to subscribe.

If you’d prefer to talk to someone about the service, our team would be happy to help. Book a call with our dedicated team to have all your questions answered, and learn how this safety net could make a tangible difference to your practice.

If you missed our panel discussion at CCR, entitled When Things Go Wrong: Honest Conversations About Filler Complications, watch the above video. It features candid conversations with the same team:

• Dr Marcus Mehta, Harley Academy Director, aesthetic educator and founder of STORY Clinics
• Dr Harriet Jenkins, cosmetic doctor and Medical Director at Harley Academy
• Dr Joanna Hackney, aesthetic doctor and Head of Medical Services at Harley Academy
• Dr Max Greenfield, cosmetic doctor and skin specialist, and Head of Clinical Training at Harley Academy.

Watch to the end to glean valuable clinical insights from their anecdotes, and learn more about why they’re so passionate about this project. They also explain why they believe an Aesthetics Referral Centre subscription is a must-have for every aesthetic practitioner. 

All information correct at time of publication