A CITY centre doctor fears people could be put at serious risk of burns and injury following a government decision to remove regulation of some laser treatments.

Dr Dinesh Maini has run Zenith Cosmetic Clinic, in Derby Road, for six years and said he has dealt with countless patients who have suffered burns from bungled laser treatments. He warned the situation could get worse after a government ruling last month that means lasers used for non-surgical treatments, such as hair removal, will no longer have to be registered and will not be regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

"We get patients every few weeks who have been horribly burnt – and now a lot of lasers are being deregulated," said Dr Maini.

"I think the thing with laser deregulation that is worrying is that some of these lasers are very, very powerful.

"I think there's no doubt this will put people at risk.

"Anybody who knows anything about this field will tell you there are enough less-than-scrupulous practitioners out there and this will give them licence to do what they want.

"It's frightening. I thought it was a joke, when I read it."

Under the new ruling, non-surgical lasers and intense pulsated lights (IPLs) that are used for non-surgical cosmetic procedures will not be required to be registered under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

They will not be regulated by the CQC. This means people with these lower-level lasers and IPLs will no longer have to register.

Dr Maini added: "With this, anyone could set up an IPL scheme. That scares me to death.

"The problem with this will be a lot of people will get burnt left, right and centre.

"At the moment, there are very strict guidelines on who can operate these things.

"At the moment, you can't get a licence for a laser unless you do the training and have regular clinical meetings, as well as back-up with a doctor or hospital.

"Therefore, it's conceivable that you could buy an IPL machine and use it without any training."

Dr Maini said he sees people who have suffered burns from laser treatments, particularly IPL machines.

He added: "We see people who are pretty badly scarred, especially from IPLs.

"This is because of the way the machinery is, it's not a reflection on the practitioner.

"With an IPL you are filtering off the wavelengths – but you get some you don't want."

People using class 3B and 4 lasers – for example, to carry out laser eye surgery – will still have to register.

These are also used to carry out non-surgical procedures such as treating disease, disorders and injuries, and people will still have to be registered for this.

They will also continue to be regulated by the CQC.

A representative from the CQC confirmed that people using lower-level lasers for treatments like hair removal would no longer need to register and would not be regulated.

He said: "This has been decided by statute.

"But we would advise people to make sure they are dealing with a reputable provider of this sort of treatment. There are trade associations; people should make sure they are going to a reputable clinic."