This is now a regulated business, which means that to trade as a practice you have to abide by the new regulations. As a first step, anyone wishing to practice must now register with the CQC and confirm that they are compliant with all the requirements and will continue to be so from here on.

Trading without registration is an offence. In plain English, this means you will be committing a criminal offence and liable to hefty fines of up to £50,000 and prosecution and possibly a stretch at Her Majesty's pleasure.
Don't even think about it !

Section 10(1) of the Act dictates a fine of £4,000 for "Carrying on a regulated activity without being registered"

CQC prosecutes cosmetic surgery company for failure to register 4 May 2012

A company providing cosmetic surgery treatment at independent clinics in Wakefield and London without being properly registered has been ordered to pay a fine of £40,000 by magistrates in Wakefield.

The Care Quality Commission brought the prosecution against The Northern Clinic.com Limited who had been carrying out a surgical liposuction procedure known as ''Body Tite'' fat removal treatment, at clinics at Homestead Drive, Alverthorpe Road, Wakefield and at Hannah House, 11-16 Manchester Street, London.

On Tuesday 2 May at Wakefield Magistrates' Court, the company pleaded guilty to two offences of carrying on a regulated activity without being registered to do so.

Inspectors visited the clinic at Wakefield unannounced in February 2011 after receiving information from a member of the public. Further inspections of both the Wakefield and London clinics confirmed that at both locations the company was carrying out liposuction procedures even though the company was not registered with CQC, as required by law.