Au Revoir, Paula Ross

19th April, 2010 12

It would appear that the Chief Executive of the Society of Homeopaths, Paula Ross, has left the building. This morning, the web page that lists the staff of the Society no longer includes her profile. It were there yesterday, and now it is gone. And also, separately, a little dickie bird tells me that the Society and Ross “have agreed to part company amicably”. Chilling words that anyone who has [read more…]

Who is to Blame for Bad Health Journalism?

16th April, 2010 14

Fiona Fox, Director of the Science Media Centre, has been complaining that blogs are not real journalism. She appears to be upset that bloggers are supposedly claiming to be better than journalists and that such sentiment might undermine the fragile existence of science journalism in the media. Comments quickly filled her article suggesting blogs are journalism and that she is confusing a technology medium with an approach to writing – [read more…]

The British Chiropractic Association Humiliated.

15th April, 2010 17

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…]

Dame Shirley Porter Funded Prince Charles’ Political Report on NHS Alternative Medicine

6th April, 2010 26

After writing about how Prince Charles’ charity, the Foundation for Integrated Health, is now under police investigation for possible fraud, it has become clear how I have missed one of the most shocking aspects of the Smallwood Report. The report has proved to be very controversial because it was commissioned by Prince Charles and was sent directly to government ministers in an attempt to influence them to fund the provision [read more…]

Police Investigate The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health

4th April, 2010 14

Scotland Yard has been called into Prince Charles’ charity, the Foundation for Integrated Health, to investigate alleged fraudulent transactions. Reports suggest that either £150,000 or £300,000 has gone missing from the charity and that the accounts could not be signed off by auditors because of transactional discrepancies. The charity has already received fines for late submission of accounts. Failure to file is a criminal offense. This comes just a few [read more…]

Liverpool NHS PCT Drops Supernatural Cancer Claims from Website

24th March, 2010 9

Six weeks ago I wrote about how Liverpool Homeopathic ‘hospital’ was advertising that it offered cancer treatments based on the supernatural beliefs of mystic Rudolf Steiner. Observing that mistletoe grew on trees like a cancer, his homeopathic reasoning concluded that therefore mistletoe could be used to treat cancer. Given the obvious absurd and anti-scientific origins of this treatment, Liverpool PCT obviously feel that giving money to the Steiner company Weleda [read more…]

How Safe are Home Births?

15th March, 2010 33

And so, maybe this week, I will become a parent. Today is our due date and everything (I think) is ready. We are feeling that huge sense of – well – impending change. Our NCT antenatal classes are something of a distant memory. Bags are packed. Car seats fitted. The dog has been told. This is the real thing and we are at the top of the roller coaster ride. [read more…]

Are There Any Homeopathic Hospitals in the UK?

11th March, 2010 27

The publication of the report of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee Evidence Check into Homeopathy has resulted in a lot of misinformation about how much public money is spent on homeopathy. The report states that there are four homeopathic hospitals in the UK, based in London, Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow. How much do these hospitals cost and what exactly is going on within these institutions? Various figures [read more…]

MP David Tredinnick is Wrong about the Homeopathy Report

1st March, 2010 67

David ‘cash for questions’ Tredinnick is the MP who liked to buy astrology software and training on expenses. He is a keen supporter of pseudoscience and appears to be heading the charge for homeopaths to discredit the recent House of Commons Evidence Check into homeopathy. The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee Evidence Check report into homeopathy will be a reference document for years to come. I have it [read more…]

George Vithoulkas Makes a Fool of Himself

24th February, 2010 303

This is a minor one but it is worth a brief post: George Vithoulkas is considered to be one of the top intellectuals in the homeopathic world. Revered for his teachings and fundamentalist approach to the teachings of Hahnemann, he is probably one of the best known homeopaths alive today. His writings underpin much of the contemporary homeopathic opposition to modern medicine, vaccines and science. He thinks AIDS was caused [read more…]

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