The Lao Ministry of Health has ordered a nationwide re-inspection of private medical and beauty facilities after finding 183 beauty centers performing medical procedures without a license.
Health Minister Baikham Khattiya disclosed the findings on 7 October at the 2nd Ordinary Session of the 10th National Assembly, where lawmakers questioned her on oversight of private treatment and beauty centers.
Authorities are running inspections to see how many more unauthorized clinics and hospitals are out there. Nationwide, only 46 private hospitals, 23 treatment centers, and 2,076 clinics operate legally.
The ministry urged individuals and legal entities running unauthorized medical and beauty businesses to register promptly. Facilities must pass strict inspections before approval.
Crackdown underway
Earlier in September, it ordered Dr. Nith Beauty Center, a local beauty clinic chain, to suspend its medical services. Authorities found the center’s Vientiane facility injecting customers and introducing substances, including Botox, for cosmetic purposes without authorization. The center was ordered to stop providing medical services until it obtains official approval.
The suspension followed a 29 May directive requiring unlicensed clinics, beauty centers, and stem cell facilities to obtain permits by 30 November and stop medical procedures until then.
Questions about enforcement extend beyond beauty clinics.
On 21 July, the health ministry announced the immediate closure of BLL Hospital in Vientiane’s Xaysettha district while authorities continued to investigate organ trafficking allegations.
Taiwanese outlet The Reporter first published the allegations on 19 July after several months independent investigation,
The publication claimed brokers working with Chinese doctors arranged kidney transplants at the hospital for patients from Taiwan, China, and other parts of Asia, at prices between USD 130,000 and USD 180,000 paid in cash.
The notice did not say how long the investigation by Lao authorities would take.
On 22 July, one day after authorities announced the hospital’s temporary closure, patients and doctors continued to enter and leave the hospital after the order, and no police presence was visible.
As of 9 October, nearly three months after the order, the hospital remains open. Neither the health ministry nor the hospital has issued a clear statement on its status.
