Calling all complementary and alternative therapy practitioners and their clients
If you are involved in any way with a charity that uses or advises on the use of CAM approaches or you care about people’s access to these charities, YOU MUST ACT NOW.
We are somewhat alarmed to find that some CAM practitioners and their clients are still unaware of the Charity Commission Consultation that is taking place right now and ends on 19th May.
This appears to be the latest attack on CAM, but this time targeting those charities that are set up to promote awareness, provide education or provide therapies to those in need.
If you do not take part there is a very strong risk that the Charity Commission will decide that to prove public benefit and thus retain or gain their charitable status, CAM charities will need to prove the efficacy of the therapies with which they are associated.
If this happens, access to low-cost, effective complementary medicine and natural healthcare approaches will be dramatically reduced – or even rendered totally unavailable to those who rely upon them for their health and wellbeing. This attack threatens the most vulnerable people – therefore we must all act NOW to do what we can to let the Charity Commission know our views.
There is no doubt that public safety is a primary concern to the Charity Commission and that is covered by the rigorous standards and training to which voluntarily regulated therapies adhere. There are robust procedures in place to cover complaints if needed and strict codes of conduct that practitioners follow.
The following link to the Good Thinking Society, headed by Simon Singh, explains how this consultation came about.
In a nutshell, the Charity Commission have been asked to carry out an assessment of charities that offer, recommend or otherwise are involved in complementary and alternative medicine – in order to see whether their charitable status should remain or should be revoked.
They are seeking views on:
- The level and nature of evidence to support CAM
- Conflicting and inconsistent evidence
- Alternative therapies and the risks of harm
- Palliative alternative therapy
Please click here to read about the assessment. There is also an email link and address to which you can respond.
Thank you for reading – please make your views known NOW – there is not much time.
