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incredulousPleaase complain to the BBC about this issue by clicking here http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-perl/complaints/multistageform3.pl
BBC Health Website Deletes Complementary Medicine
Last week the controllers of BBCHealth (www.bbc.co.uk/health
<http://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.
