Sceptered Isle sniffs need for more NHS regulation

Here is a report on a government-backed Natural Healthcare Council to be established this year in the U.K. The new Council will apparently function in, or with, the NHS and will regulate certain alternative medical therapies.

“Only mainstream alternative therapies such as traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture are to be the subject of statutory regulation.”

Uh, “mainstream" alternatives? Well, never mind that. Anyway, "mainstream" alternatives apparently include aromatherapy, reflexology, massage, nutrition, shiatzu, reiki, and others. Who knew?

The purpose of the Council is reportedly two-fold:

(1) strike off errant or incompetent practitioners.

(2) set minimum standards for practitioners

Of course, “minimum standards” must be laid down before the government can admit anyone to the privilege of paying licensing fees. One must also have “minimum standards” before one can go round striking off those people from the registry. In this way, the new Council will AT LONG LAST provide NHS with the protection of best practices in . . . aromatherapy.

The report also states

“dealing with misconduct by therapists it will be almost as robust as statutory regulation . . . Suspension from the register will be the ultimate sanction.”

So let’s summarise. NHS creates a council to set up new laws that are weaker than existing laws, in order to create a register, so that practitioners of “mainstream" alternatives can be placed on the register, pay licensing fees, and then struck from the register if they violate existing law?

Is this really a better solution than not paying for treatment in the first place that is of unknown or unproven efficacy? Well, never mind that, either. In a government system, you see, nothing is ever denied. It is only regulated.

Sounds ever so worthwhile to me. How 'bout you?