Portsmouth nurse struck off after leaving Botox clients fearing they have HIV

Caroline McIntosh, 61, charged £250 for Botox and filler treatment but was caught squirting Botox back into a bottle from a used syringe after administering the treatment to a client, a Nursing and Midwifery Council fitness to practise hearing was told.

Two clients, a veterinary nurse and her mother-in-law, underwent six months of blood tests for HIV and hepatitis after McIntosh, from Portsmouth, administered the treatment to them both at the back of a second-hand bridal wear shop.

The veterinary nurse was shocked when at the end of her top-up treatment for her frown lines and forehead McIntosh injected Botox back into a bottle, put that in a mini-fridge and threw away the needle.

After leaving, the veterinary nurse - who also had filler treatment - texted McIntosh saying: '˜Just thinking saw you put the Botox you didn't need for me back in the bottle. You need to be careful as if other clients have infections/diseases then you could be infecting others.'

McIntosh, who left Solent NHS Trust months before the case, replied: '˜Yes I usually have syringes for top ups ready but I used full syringe on you and you look safe.'

In striking McIntosh off the register, chair of the NMC misconduct panel Gary Mortimer said: '˜The panel considered that Mrs McIntosh's actions in transferring unused Botox from a used syringe into a bottle was extremely serious and had the potential for future cross-contamination.'

NHS guidelines say a person wanting Botox must have a face-to-face meeting with a qualified prescriber first. McIntosh claimed she had '˜teamed up with a prescribing nurse' but there was no evidence of this, the NMC found.

McIntosh, a registered nurse since 1992, did not take medical histories and made no record of treatments given to the women who received Botox.

Around six or seven people attended a Botox and lip filler party run by McIntosh at the back of the bridal wear shop during which she administered filler to a third client for £150 cash.

The woman, named as Individual C in NMC papers, suffered '˜lumpy and asymmetrical' lips after McIntosh used the wrong type of filler or an inappropriate amount and the woman's lips swelled, a panel found.

When the client, who was left with difficulty speaking, contacted McIntosh the nurse told her to use ice and ibuprofen, and wait for two weeks. McIntosh also told the woman she would be charged £25 for details of which filler was used.

But the woman instead went to a GP who told her that they had '˜never seen such an adverse outcome to lip filler treatment'. It took three treatments with the GP for the woman's lips to return to normal.

The panel found her actions, which took place between November last year and February, were '˜so serious and wide-ranging' that she had to be struck off.

An 18-month interim suspension order is in place but if she does not appeal by January she will be fully struck off.

She told the NMC she '˜had no interest in'¦engaging with the process as she had given up nursing and was retired'.

In the panel's report, Mr Mortimer said: '˜Mrs McIntosh has shown a persistent lack of insight, and showed no remorse for her actions or concern for the individuals harmed by her actions.'

McIntosh was cleared of using too much filler. The NMC also cleared her of an accusation she did not have a qualified medic assess the lip filler client. The panel ruled she did not need to as filler can be administered by anyone.