Prince medical guides criticised

Prince Charles supports alternative therapies and treatments

Two guides on alternative medicine backed by Prince Charles have been criticised by a university professor.

Edzard Ernst, Professor of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter, said the guides should be withdrawn.

He claims the guides contain "misleading and inaccurate claims".

But the Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH) said the professor was trying to promote his new book through an attack on a charity.

In a statement, the FIH said: "We entirely refute the accusation that our online publication, Complementary Healthcare: A Guide, contains any misleading or inaccurate claims about the benefits of complementary therapies.

"On the contrary, it treats people as adults and takes a responsible approach by encouraging people to look at reliable sources of information about the latest research and evidence so that they can make informed decisions about whether a particular complementary therapy might benefit them."

'Rigorous' evaluations

Professor Ernst said if patients used treatments which were "useless and perhaps dangerous" the "danger is obvious".

He also criticised the Smallwood Report, which tackled the cost-effectiveness of complementary therapies, claiming it aimed to influence politics and ministers, which was not the Prince's role.

Professor Ernst and science writer Simon Singh are due to publish a new book next week.

They said "Trick of Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial" had "rigorously and fairly" evaluated more than 4,000 research studies into alternative medicine since 2000.

In the light of their evidence they have advised the Prince of Wales and the FIH to withdraw the guide for patients and the Smallwood Report, they said.

But the FIH said it neither promoted complementary therapies or encouraged the use of any specific therapy.

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