The Quackometer has been raising concerns for nearly two years that Lord Saatchi has been wanting to make a “Quack’s Charter” law in the UK. The Bill’s aims were to remove a patient’s current rights to sue their doctor if they had been negligent. Instead, a doctor would have been required to perform some perfunctory box ticking that was supposed to show the doctor was taking due care. This change [read more…]
This week is Acupuncture Awareness Week. This is probably a good thing as, of all the alternative medicines, acupuncture carries perhaps the most myths. These myths need to be addressed. Acupuncture has achieved an accepted status perhaps even more than chiropractic and osteopathy as being now an accepted part of mainstream medicine. Why is this? Let’s look at some of these myths. 1. Acupuncture is Thousands of Years Old. This is [read more…]
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The charity Homeopathy Action Trust represents pretty much everything that is wrong with homeopathy in the UK today. Homeopaths would not be under such pressure and scrutiny if they did not fund and support HIV clinics in Africa, did not agitate for public funding on the NHS and did not advocate homeopathy for serious and life-threatening conditions. Other forms of alternative medicine do not do such things (at least to any [read more…]
This blog has been continuously critical of UK homeopaths who fund and set up clinics in Africa that treat people with serious illnesses such as HIV, malaria and TB. These homeopaths are able to practice their healing fantasies in ways that it would be very difficult to get away with in the UK. Practice in the UK is constrained by such things advertising laws, the risk of bad publicity and [read more…]
The UK homeopathy bodies are continuing their use of PR to try to raise the profile of their magic medicine rather than offer actual evidence and rational debate. At last week’s National Television Awards, Hot Gossip founder, Arlene Phillips wore what was described as a ‘homeopathic dress’. This is somewhat less exciting than you might at first think. You would be excused for thinking a homeopathic dress would make the [read more…]
Before you begin, if your irony meter is switched on, then to avoid damage, please turn it off now. For the Society of Homeopaths have today issued a press release condemning sceptics for their ‘half baked arguments and lack of understanding of research’. The homeopaths are very angry at Simon Singh again and his ‘traipsing around the media studios’ talking about how the government are to review if doctors will be [read more…]
The Stop the Saatchi Bill Alliance are making an urgent call to action for people to write to their MPs about the resurrected Saatchi Bill. We need you to make sure your MP knows the facts about Chris Heaton-Harris’s Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill, which will have its Second Reading in the House of Commons this coming Friday, 16th October. This is an important opportunity for MPs to discuss and thoroughly [read more…]
Lord Saatchi has been trying for a number of years now to introduce a law that would drive a coach and horses through well established medical negligence law. The effect of the law would be to seriously erode a patient’s right to sue a doctor if they were harmed through negligence. Under the Saatchi Law, a doctor who would currently be found acting without proper care would be free from [read more…]
Like many parts of the NHS, Lothian Health Board had recently made the sensible decision to stop funding homeopathy. It made this decision after an extensive public consultation. However a 73 year old woman with arthritis called for judicial review of the decision. That review came down firmly on the side of the Health Board and homeopathic provision will not be reinstated. However, the impact of this decision goes well beyond [read more…]
Just what is Christine Braithwaite of the Professional Standards Authority doing speaking at a homeopaths’ conference on treating children with autism with sugar pills? The Society of Homeopaths is holding it annual conference with a theme based around treating children with autism. Braithwaite is the Director of Standards and Policy. You may think that the regulator would be doing its best to protect parents and children from the absurd fantasies of homeopaths [read more…]
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