Ben Goldacre has an interesting article in today’s Guardian.
On reading an article ‘Yes We Can Cure ADHD’ in the Daily Mail last week, apparently written by “neurologist Dr Robin Pauc”, he decided to check out Dr Pauc’s credentials. (Dr Pauc has written a book suggesting that learning difficulties - including Dyslexia, ADD, Dyspraxia and Tourette’s syndrome - as we understand them, don’t exist).
He discovered that Dr Pauc wasn’t registered with the GMC, but was a doctor of chiropractic who specialises in the treatment of developmental disorders in children.
The fact that he was a chiropractor didn’t appear anywhere in the article despite the General Chiropractic Council’s code of practice requiring that chiropractors ensure that they make it clear that by using the title of ‘doctor’ they are registered chiropractors and not registered medical practitioners. (The code or practice also states that chiropractors “must not make claims to being a specialist or expert in a field of chiropractic although chiropractors may indicate that their practice is wholly or mainly devoted to particular types of care”.)
It turns out that although ‘chiropractor’ is a protected title, anyone can call themselves a doctor or a neurologist because they aren’t protected titles.
Apparently Dr Pauc denied having written the Daily Mail article and to ever having claimed to be anything other than a “chiropractic neurologist”.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/badscience/story/0,,1758975,00.html
Interestingly, Dr Pauc’s website states his only qualifications as being a Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Neurology Board and an Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology at the Carrick Institute for Post-Graduate Studies, Cape Canaveral, USA.
http://www.tinsleyhouseclinic.co.uk/about-us.htm
Does anyone know how legitimate these qualifications are and would his treatment of dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADD, ADHD, OCD and Tourette's Syndrome come within the scope of practice for chiropractic?
On reading an article ‘Yes We Can Cure ADHD’ in the Daily Mail last week, apparently written by “neurologist Dr Robin Pauc”, he decided to check out Dr Pauc’s credentials. (Dr Pauc has written a book suggesting that learning difficulties - including Dyslexia, ADD, Dyspraxia and Tourette’s syndrome - as we understand them, don’t exist).
He discovered that Dr Pauc wasn’t registered with the GMC, but was a doctor of chiropractic who specialises in the treatment of developmental disorders in children.
The fact that he was a chiropractor didn’t appear anywhere in the article despite the General Chiropractic Council’s code of practice requiring that chiropractors ensure that they make it clear that by using the title of ‘doctor’ they are registered chiropractors and not registered medical practitioners. (The code or practice also states that chiropractors “must not make claims to being a specialist or expert in a field of chiropractic although chiropractors may indicate that their practice is wholly or mainly devoted to particular types of care”.)
It turns out that although ‘chiropractor’ is a protected title, anyone can call themselves a doctor or a neurologist because they aren’t protected titles.
Apparently Dr Pauc denied having written the Daily Mail article and to ever having claimed to be anything other than a “chiropractic neurologist”.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/badscience/story/0,,1758975,00.html
Interestingly, Dr Pauc’s website states his only qualifications as being a Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Neurology Board and an Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology at the Carrick Institute for Post-Graduate Studies, Cape Canaveral, USA.
http://www.tinsleyhouseclinic.co.uk/about-us.htm
Does anyone know how legitimate these qualifications are and would his treatment of dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADD, ADHD, OCD and Tourette's Syndrome come within the scope of practice for chiropractic?