Woman received third-degree burns during 'body contour' treatment

A beauty clinic has been found to have breached care standards when a woman received severe third-degree burns during a body contour beauty treatment.

The Health and Disability Commission investigated after a woman complained a machine overheated while she was undergoing thermal shock lipolysis treatment at the clinic, in June 2021.

The woman spent nearly a week in hospital as a result of the burn, and required a skin graft.

Deputy Commissioner Dr Vanessa Caldwell found the clinic did not provide adequate information before the treatment, and it did not respond appropriately when the woman first reported pain.

The client reported that "her treatment was administered with a machine that the clinic knew had a faulty part that required replacement, and, as a result, she suffered a large third-degree burn on her abdomen. [She] said that this was extremely painful and required a skin graft...," the Commission's report said

The beauty therapist's first aid response was also lacking, it found, as they provided an ice-pack for the burned woman, but did not put her burn under running water - as recommended by Hato Hone St John.

The Deputy Commissioner said the clinic breached the woman's rights under the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights.

She also criticised the clinic's risk management procedures, as a staff member had earlier been burned by the thermal shock lipolysis machine. However the clinic had continued to use the machine "without putting in place adequate safety measures."

The Commission has released a list of recommendations for the clinic to improve client safety.