“The removal of the complementary health section of the Health area of bbc.co.uk has caused a bit of a stir, resulting in several complaints and accusations flying around that we’ve bowed to the demands of pressure groups.

In reality, it’s not nearly that exciting. The fact is that we review the content on bbc.co.uk on an ongoing basis, making sure that it’s both of a high editorial standard and as up-to-date and complete as possible. We’ll often remove elements of the site which we feel do not meet these requirements, and where significant investment would be required to bring it up to scratch…”

For the full response go here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2008/02/complementary_health_site.html

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BBC Health Website Deletes Complementary Medicine

Last week the controllers of BBCHealth (www.bbc.co.uk/health) , the health section on one of the most accessed websites in the world, decided to remove all coverage of complementary medicine!

They used to have substantial coverage with over 40 pages on this subject covering all the major therapies, their pros and cons, evidence for their effectiveness, how to find a qualified practitioner, etc.

However the site has in recent months been sent a deluge of letters and emails claiming that complementary therapies such as homeopathy and cranial osteopathy should be removed. As a result large chunks of this part of the site were simply removed overnight and now, following recent cutbacks, it was decided that, rather than update this part of the site, it should simply be removed altogether!

It may seem incredible that a public service site this prominent can deem complementary medicine so insignificant that it no longer warrants any coverage other than the odd news story. This is despite the fact that complementary medicine is used favourably by a significant proportion of the population (recent surveys have estimated that around 1 in 5 Britons use it at some point or other) and that increasing numbers of people are now seeking to train in these therapies.

However, as the ‘quack busters’ become more organised and active, evidence of the backlash against complementary medicine is appearing all over the place - such as the removal of PCT funding for homeopathy, the threatened closure of the homeopathic hospitals, many negative news stories in the press and so on.
Rather than taking a reasoned view and considering the evidence from good research studies on complementary medicine some groups seem simply hell bent on trying to ’stamp out’ complementary medicine in any way possible. The BBCi removal of complementary medicine coverage (which has been in place for almost 15 years!) is one example.

If you believe information pages on it should be returned to BBCi, please, please take just a minute to express your views using their online comment form at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/feedback/

to make your view known. As a public service company they have to listen to your views so your email will make a difference. Apparently for all the many letters and emails that they received that were against complementary medicine they only received a handful in support. Therefore if you are in support please let them know so they may revise their thinking on this subject.

Please act as soon as possible and pass on these details to anyone else you know who may also be willing to write in support of complementary medicine.

………………………………………………………………….
Mary O’Meara
Complementary & Alternative Medicine Researcher’s Network (CAMRN)
Research Council for Complementary Medicine
The Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital,
UCLH NHS Foundation Trust
60 Great Ormond Street
London
WC1 3HR
Website: www.rccm.org.uk

Developing the evidence base for complementary medicine The RCCM is a charitable trust dependent entirely upon grants and voluntary donations

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Also if you have news that you would like to share then by all means send it through to me and I’ll post it if I feel it’s relevant to a wide audience.

That’s all for now, please check back regularly as I hope this site will be updated most days.

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