The Department of Health, together with the Scottish executive and the Welsh assembly, financially supported the Prince of Wales's Foundation for Integrated Health to generate guidelines for patients on complementary medicine.
The booklet, entitled Complementary Healthcare: a Guide for Patients, is distributed to vast numbers of British consumers. Its aim is "to give patients reliable and accessible information to help them to make informed decisions about their healthcare". This sounds fine but, in fact, it is nothing short of a scandalous waste of public funds.
The foundation is a lobby group set up to promote complementary medicine. In its own words: "The foundation acts as a forum to promote and support discussion and as a centre for driving forward the integrated health agenda." Critical evaluation is definitely not its game. Those individuals listed as writing and producing the guide are not known experts in the field and have not, as far as I can see, conducted scientific research in this area.
But look at the impressively long list of advisers at the end of the guide, some might say. I know; I am one of them. About half a year ago, I was asked by the foundation to comment on a draft. In response, I offered my team's help to thoroughly revise the document, which was full of errors and misinformation. Alas, my offer was rejected. To name me as a contributor to the booklet is therefore ambiguous.
The guide is the most spurious I have seen for years. Informed decisions about healthcare need reliable information, particularly facts on whether a treatment is safe and effective. Readers of this guide will, however, look in vain for such data.
