Dental nurse struck off for performing surgical facelift on friend

A dental nurse from Bradford has been struck off for performing a surgical facelift on one of her friends. The General Dental Council (GDC) revoked Adele Royston's registration after it was found she had carried out the procedure, which involved making incisions into the person's face and tightening their skin, between February 17 and 20, 2014. The part-time model used a two-year-old local anaesthetic which she was not entitled to use, the GDC found. Royston made two incisions and also put in stitches to the friend's face. The GDC accepted as mitigation that Royston had not made any money from carrying out the procedure and there was an "absence of evidence of actual harm" to her friend.

A hearing held by the GDC's Professional Conduct Committee found that Royston's "fitness to practise as a dental care professional is impaired by reason of misconduct". It was said that Royston, of Bradford had put a member of the public at risk when she administered the drug and carried out the facelift. The procedure came to light after she told a colleague about what she had done. The hearing was told: "The GDC contends that such conduct was outside Ms Royston's scope of practice as a dental nurse and put the individual's safety at risk." The GDC also found Royston was not "entitled" to give a local anaesthetic. "By acting in this way she placed Witness 1 at the risk of harm, because of her disregard for the rules in place in relation to the use of such anaesthetics for public safety.



"The Committee notes that Ms Royston stated in the employer’s disciplinary investigation that she had had the drug for around two years, and the Committee considers that this potentially heightened the risks for the individual given the need to follow expiration date guidance when administering anaesthetics." Ms Royston was suspended from her job at Integrated Dental Holdings, based in Bingley, West Yorkshire, on February 26, 2014, after the employer started an investigation. She was dismissed from the practice on the grounds of gross misconduct on March 21, 2014, and the company referred the case to the GDC. The hearing was told: "In the circumstances, the committee has determined that it is necessary for the protection of the public and is otherwise in the public interest to impose an order for immediate suspension on Ms Royston's registration.

"It has decided that, given the real risks of significant harm to public safety and public trust and confidence in the profession and in the regulatory process that it has identified, it would not be appropriate to allow Ms Royston to practise until the substantive order takes effect." The GDC's report said Royston’s actions had placed the reputation of the profession at serious risk of being brought into considerable disrepute. "The Committee further considers that a finding of impairment is also needed in order to maintain public confidence in the GDC as regulator in light of the findings that the Committee has made. The Committee is in no doubt that the public’s trust and confidence in the profession, and in the regulatory process, would be seriously undermined if a finding of impairment were not made in the serious circumstances of this case." Ms Royston, who was not at the hearing, can appeal the decision. A spokesman for the practice said: "The matter has been dealt with by regulators and it would be inappropriate for us to comment."