Andy L – Page 9 – The Quackometer Blog

Kevin Wright and the Cancer Charities that Harm Children.

6th September, 2013 197

A month ago, I saw two young men in Bristol Temple Meads Station collecting money for the charity Kids Integrated Cancer Treatment. They were holding two large plastic apples for passing passengers to put money in and telling people they were like CLIC – a popular childrens’ cancer charity – except “Integrated”. What made this everyday scene unusual is that one of the trustees of the charity, Jacqueline Wright was [read more…]

The Inspection of Steiner Schools

12th August, 2013 215

Last week, it was reported that pupils at Ringwood Waldorf School, a private Steiner School, had been given art lessons in “supervised self harm”. The pupils had been encouraged to cut themselves with a blade as part of an art class. The teacher resigned before a disciplinary hearing could take place. Steiner schools sell themselves as focusing on art. I am sure this was not what parents were expecting. But [read more…]

An Unacceptable Response from the BBC

4th July, 2013 20

I have received a reply from the BBC to my complaint that BBC Radio London seriously misled its listeners during a ‘Barking Hour’ programme on the use of chiropractic and homeopathy for dogs. Details of the concerns are listed on my previous blog post. To remind you, the programme was given over to “animal chiropractor”, Kay McCarroll, who made many unchallenged, misleading statements about quack treatments for dogs. The programme misled [read more…]

What the Steiner Waldorf School Movement did not want you to read.

14th June, 2013 140

Earlier this month, Grégoire Perra was finally acquitted in a French court after the Federation of Waldorf Steiner Schools in France decided to sue Grégoire Perra, a former Steiner teacher, for publishing a critique of the schools and the anthroposophy movement. The trial appears to have collapsed as the court accepted that the account was not written out of malice but as an honest examination of the Steiner School system. It also [read more…]

William Alderson Hung Out to Dry by Homeopaths

3rd June, 2013 18

The desire for homeopaths to obtain state-recognised legitimacy has been tearing the trade apart for a decade or more. On one side are those with ambitions to be seen as mainstream and respectable. On the other side, those that want to remain ‘alternative’, anti-establishment and to be able to make whatever claims they like about homeopathy. The latest instalment concerns homeopathy lobby group, HMC21. They plan to hold a demonstration outside the [read more…]

BBC Devon Promotes Dangerously Deluded HIV Homeopaths in Africa

21st May, 2013 17

Last week, BBC London broadcast a dreadful programme promoting an animal chiropractor despite the fact that there is no good evidence chiropractic is of any use on animals and that chiropractors can only work with animals under very tightly defined circumstances. Yesterday, BBC Radio Devon managed to go one better with an amazingly misguided interview with a homeopath who had been to Tanzania to treat people with HIV. The Judi [read more…]

BBC London 94.9 Barking Hour Lives Up to its Name

17th May, 2013 16

Yesterday, on BBC London radio, Joanne Good and Anna Webb used their Barking Hour show to mislead listeners about how chiropractic, homeopathy and kiniesiology can help pets with serious illnesses. Her guest on the show was a McTimoney chiropractor by the name of Kay McCarroll who was unchallenged as she gave false, misleading and possibly illegal advice about the treatment of animals. [Available here for this week. Starts 10 minutes in.] This show failed [read more…]

Society of Homeopaths Seeks Accreditation from the Professional Standards Authority

8th May, 2013 27

Health regulators do an important thing: protect the public from the potential risks that health care providers and their practices pose to their clients. Risks cannot be avoided in health care. For any treatment that will have effects, there is the risk that there will be detrimental effects which may outweigh any benefit. If a patient is informed of these risks and benefits, good decisions can be made. Alternative medicine [read more…]

Steiner Schools, Vaccination and Measles Outbreaks

26th April, 2013 182

The UK is currently experiencing outbreaks of measles. Many children have been hospitalised and there has been one suspected death. This is an entirely preventable situation and would not be happening if there were sufficient levels of MMR uptake. However, as I discussed in my last article levels of vaccination can vary enormously in the space of just a few miles. To blame the media and their positive reporting of [read more…]

Homeopaths Embrace Vaccination Against Measles – Or Do They?

17th April, 2013 53

There is no general reason why a child in the UK should suffer measles. We have excellent and safe medical technology to ensure communities can be free from this nasty disease. And yet, we are seeing hundreds of children in South Wales currently being infected and many being hospitalised. Your favourite Tory MP, Dr Sarah Wollaston, has been concerned about her own constituents in Totnes where full MMR uptake [read more…]