Today, the University of Wales announced that it is to cease accrediting degrees at all but two colleges. The University has made a business in education by accrediting degrees from private colleges both here in the UK and across the world. But in doing so, it has been criticised for letting standards drop and allowing bogus institutions to award degrees in their name. The BBC have been on the case [read more…]
People who work in public healthcare, or are involved with the promotion of health practitioners or techniques, do not have an absolute right to a reputation. It is most important that the claims, behaviours and results achieved are subject to the highest levels of public scrutiny. It is only in doing so that we can be confident that our healthcare providers are doing more good than harm. In pursuing that scrutiny, [read more…]
The Dutch sceptics group, Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij (VtdK – The Society against Quackery) have managed to overturn a important court ruling that was preventing them calling quacks quacks. In a remarkable case, that in many ways closely parallels the BCA vs. Simon Singh case in the UK, a judge has decided that using a narrow definition of the word ‘Quack’ that a previous ruling was forcing the group to [read more…]
This is an open letter to all homeopaths in the UK. It has been a bit of a surprise to me to learn that the Society of Homeopaths is wanting to lobby the Health Professions Council to include homeopathy within its regulation remit. As such, you will receive protected title (only registered homeopaths will be able to call themselves that) and be held against a code of standards and ethics. [read more…]
The following is a reprint of an article by Simon Singh that appeared in the Guardian last year. It is highly critical of significant aspects of chiropractic. As a result the British Chiropractic Association decided to sue Simon Singh. The article is being posted and reprinted today on many blogs and in magazines as a sign of solidarity with Simon as he fights this misconceived libel case. His lawyers have [read more…]
I have received a letter this morning from the GCC telling me about how my complaints are going. Unsurprisingly, they are finding the sheer volume rather difficult to cope with. I complained about four officers of the BCA for misrepresenting evidence. The GCC Indicative Sanctions Guidance notes for the Professional Conduct Committee suggests that misrepresenting evidence is not looked kindly upon: This term is used to describe a range of [read more…]
The BMJ has today published an exchange between the British Chiropractic Association and Professor Edzard Ernst examining the claims of the BCA that chiropractic is effective in treating childhood ailments such as asthma and colic. The editorial of the BMJ has come down firmly supporting the assessment of Ernst. The editorial says, His demolition of the 18 references is, to my mind, complete. This would look like it is now [read more…]
This letter has been issued from the McTimoney Association to all its members… Date: 8 June 2009 09:12:18 BDT Subject: FURTHER URGENT ACTION REQUIRED! Dear Member If you are reading this, we assume you have also read the urgent email we sent you last Friday. If you did not read it, READ IT VERY CAREFULLY NOW and – this is most important – ACT ON IT. This is not scaremongering. [read more…]
The British Chiropractic Association do not appear to be too hot on evidence. Given that they are suing Simon Singh, a science writer, for saying that they promoted treatments for children’s ailments, such as asthma and colic, when there was no good evidence, you would have thought that they would have been quick to publish any evidence that existed. In fact, despite the BCA telling us that there is a [read more…]
The Simon Singh/BCA libel case is having the unintended consequence of the media being full of reports of the strange beliefs of chiropractors. They are a cult like body of people and are demonstrating that they are unwilling to discuss matters of evidence but very happy to call their lawyers to get at their critics. In this way they show behaviour more readily expected from scientologists than a responsible health [read more…]
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