It would appear that, quietly and without fuss, the NHS Homeopathic Hospital in Liverpool has closed. It is difficult to know precisely what has happened. But there now appears to be no trace of its existence. Previously, only a few years ago, the British Homeopathic Association were boasting of five NHS hospitals dedicated to homeopathy. It...
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The ratchet on NHS homeopathy continues to turn. It would appear that the homeopathic pharmacy at the Glasgow Homeopathy Hospital has been closed. A note to local GPs is reminding them that they have no obligation to fill the hole left by this closure by prescribing homeopathy if patients ask for it. The Glasgow Local Medical...
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Parliament is currently looking at creating a new defamation bill.You can now see their report on the issues and much of the evidence submitted to them here.I submitted the paper below to document how a blogger covering controversial subjects concerning public health, policy and the impact of pseudoscience is affected by the current chilling...
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Last year, the homeopathic lobby group H:MC21, spent a significant sum of money by placing a full page advert in New Statesman magazine. The advert appeared to be calling for more NHS funding for homeopath whilst giving misleading information and denigrating critics of this quackery. In the Telegraph, Christine Odone wrote about her old magazine sinking...
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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...
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Last Wednesday, I gave a talk at the newly formed Coventry Skeptics in the Pub on the ‘Persistence of Delusion’ – why some alternative medicines appear to thrive. One of the techniques that ensures a healthy quackery is to obtain official endorsement from statutory and regulatory organisations. Chiropractic and Osteopathy have benefited greatly in the...
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You know, having asked David Bellamy earlier in the week to use his influence as Patron of the British Homeopathic Association, to urge them to unequivocally condemn those lay homeopaths who travel to Africa to treat HIV, malaria and TB with sugar pills, you might be surprised to learn that I am not expecting...
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Dear Professor Bellamy, I am writing to you to ask for your help as Patron of the British Homeopathic Association. But first I must say that I am somewhat surprised that you have taken this position. You were one of the people that inspired me to be interested in the natural world and to take a...
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The Society of Homeopaths in the UK has constantly refused to engage in any meaningful way about how western homeopaths are travelling to Africa and setting up clinics that use homeopathic sugar pills to treat and prevent dangerous diseases, such as TB, malaria and HIV. This is a murderous practice. People will die if they...
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In this season’s newsletter from the Homeopathy Research Institute, Dr Peter Fisher, Clinical Director of the NHS Hospital, the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine, writes an essay on how homeopathy research may be being unfairly appraised due to the ‘plausibility bias’ of scientists. Fisher makes a case that “Negative plausibility bias obstructs a fair evaluation...
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I first wrote about Ofquack, or the Complementary and Natural Health Council, during its formation in early 2008. I predicted it would not survive – and I was wrong. Ofquack was set up by the now defunct quackery lobby group founded by Prince Charles, the Foundation for Integrated Health. The aim was to provide voluntary...
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Last week I reported that a top quack delegation was visiting the Advertising Standards Authority to tell them that they were being very mean to quacks by asking them not to make unsubstantiated claims in their websites. Well, once more, a leaked email landed in my inbox. And we also have an ‘official’ press release....
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