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Natural Healthcare Council Provides Regulation of Alternative Medicine
Currently, there is no statutory regulatory system in the UK governing the practice of other complementary therapies such as homoeopathy. The Prince of Wales’ Foundation for Integrated Health has been commissioned by the Department of Health to set up a regulator for alternative and complimentary medicine, which will include practices such as aromatherapy, reflexology acupuncture, Tradition Chinese Medicine, reiki and yoga. Currently alternative medicine is not regulated, and there has been concern in the past over poor practices and advice given by those administering complimentary and alternative health care.
Membership to the Natural Healthcare Council will be on a voluntary basis, however the watchdog will minimum requirements and standards, and be able to remove companies and practitioners that are deemed to be incompetent.
The Health Professionals Manager of The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health, Ian Cambray-Smith, stated that “one of the problems, from the point of view of the public, is that there are many different types of professional body, there are many different sets of initials that practitioners have after their names and nobody’s quite sure what they all mean. By bringing things together in this way, it can give the public confidence.”
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The new watchdog aims to build a safer and more trustworthy environment for the practice of alternative medicine. Practitioners that prove that they act with professionalism and build trust in the community will be rewarded by being accredited to the Natural Healthcare Council, whereas charlatans will be denied membership. The public will then be empowered to make a better decision when choosing complimentary medicine.
A Department of Health spokesman said that the Department of Health have commissioned the Prince of Wales Foundation for Integrated Health (FiH) to develop voluntary self-regulation amongst a range of currently unregulated professions.
“To ensure public safety, the Department of Health encourages all CAM practitioners to register with a reputable voluntary regulatory body.”
The Natural HealthCare Council will only register practitioners who have a recognised professional qualification, are insured and have signed up to the code of conduct.
This should mean that from April onwards, members of the public will be in a position to make a better judgement over choosing a practitioner of alternative medicine, and also be able report poor practice to an official body, thus improving the quality of care available to all.
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Worried that practitioners can get government certification without showing that their treatments are effective, or even safe? Me too, so here’s a link to the Number 10 petition requiring evidence of efficacy and safety be made a requirement for CNHC approval.
Thanks for the petition link Sean. Please update us in this if the petition is a success.