The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health
This article is part of a series on |
Alternative medicine |
---|
The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH) was a charity run by
History
The charity was established in 1993 to explore "how safe, proven complementary therapies can work in conjunction with mainstream medicine".[1]
FIH also worked with medical schools to increase the understanding of complementary approaches amongst new doctors and ran an annual awards ceremony for integrated health schemes both within the medical world and in the community.
The papers of the Foundation for Integrated Health are held at the Wellcome Library, Archives and Manuscripts, and are available for consultation by appointment. Further details about the collection can be found on the Wellcome online catalogue.[3]
Controversy
The Prince of Wales has demonstrated an interest in alternative medicine, the promotion of which has occasionally resulted in controversy.[4] In 2004, the foundation divided the scientific and medical community over its campaign encouraging general practitioners to offer herbal and other alternative treatments to National Health Service patients,[5][6] and in May 2006, The Prince made a speech to an audience of health ministers from various countries at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, urging them to develop a plan for integrating conventional and alternative medicine.[7]
In April 2008,
The Prince's Duchy Originals have produced a variety of CAM products including a “Detox Tincture” that Ernst has denounced as "financially exploiting the vulnerable" and "outright quackery".[10] In May 2009, the Advertising Standards Authority criticised an email that Duchy Originals had sent out to advertise its Echina-Relief, Hyperi-Lift and Detox Tinctures products saying it was misleading.[11]
In Ernst's book More Good Than Harm? The Moral Maze of Complementary and Alternative Medicine he and
Funding
Between 2005 and 2007 the charity's annual turnover was about £1.2 million.
Lobbying allegations
The Prince personally wrote at least seven letters[15] to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) shortly before they relaxed the rules governing labelling of herbal products such as the ones sold by his duchy, a move that has been widely condemned by scientists and medical bodies.[16]
On 31 October 2009 it was reported that the Prince had personally lobbied Health Secretary Andy Burnham regarding greater provision of alternative treatments on the NHS.[10]
Charity Commission complaint
In March 2010, the political organisation
Fraud allegations and closure
In 2010, following accounting irregularities noted by the foundation's auditor, it was reported that the Metropolitan Police Economic and Specialist Crime Command had begun an inquiry into alleged fraud.[citation needed] Within weeks, two former officials at the Prince's Foundation were arrested for fraud believed to total £300,000.[1][18] Four days later, on 30 April 2010, the foundation announced[19] that it would close. The foundation stated that its closure was the result of the fraud allegations.[20]
The charity's finance director, accountant George Gray, was convicted of theft totalling £253,000 and sentenced to three years in prison.[21][22]
Rebranding as "The College of Medicine"
Following the disbanding of the Prince's Foundation, many of the individuals and organisations involved launched a new organisation in late 2010 called
In support of this connection with the then Prince, alternative medicine critic and pharmacologist David Colquhoun has argued that the college (originally called "The College of Integrated Health") is extremely well-funded[28] and seemed from the beginning to be very confident of the Prince's support; explicitly describing its mission as "to take forward the vision of HRH the Prince of Wales".[29]
These claims have been contested by the college.[30]
References
- ^ a b Robert Booth (26 April 2010). "Prince Charles's aide at homeopathy charity arrested on suspicion of fraud". London: guardian.co.uk.
- ^ "Regulating complementary therapies – Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health".
- ^ "Wellcome Library Western Manuscripts and Archives catalogue". Archives.wellcomelibrary.org. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
- ^ Barnaby J. Feder, Special To The New York Times (9 January 1985). "More Britons Trying Holistic Medicine — New York Times". Query.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
- ^ Carr-Brown, Jonathon (14 August 2005). "Prince Charles' alternative GP campaign stirs anger". The Times. London. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
- ^ Revill, Jo (2004-06-27). "Now Charles backs coffee cure for cancer". London: The Observer. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
- ^ Cowell, Alan (2006-05-24). "Lying in wait for Prince Charles". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
- ^ Henderson, Mark (17 April 2008). "Prince of Wales's guide to alternative medicine 'inaccurate'". London: Times Online. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
- ^ Singh, S. & Ernst, E. (2008). Trick or Treatment: Alternative Medicine on Trial. Corgi.
- ^ a b Walker, Tim (31 Oct 2009). "Prince Charles lobbies Andy Burnham on complementary medicine for NHS". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2010-04-01.
- ^ "Duchy Originals Pork Pies". The Quackometer Blog. 11 March 2009.
- ^ Ernst, Edzard (2018). "Why Did We Call Prince Charles Foolish and Immoral?". Skeptical Inquirer. 42 (3). Committee for Skeptical Inquiry: 8–9.
- ^ "The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health, registered charity no. 1026800". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
- ^ The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health 2007 accounts (PDF), Charity Commission, retrieved 2010-04-30
- ^ Colquhoun, David (March 12, 2007). "HRH "meddling in politics"". DC's Improbable Science.
- ^ Nigel Hawkes & Mark Henderson (September 1, 2006). "Doctors attack natural remedy claims". The Times. London.
- ^ Booth, Robert (19 March 2010). "Prince Charles health charity accused of vendetta against critic". London: The Guardian.
- ^ "Prince Charles charity to close amid fraud inquiry". BBC News. 30 April 2010.
- ^ Robert Booth (30 April 2010). "Prince of Wales's health charity wound up in wake of fraud investigation". The Guardian.
- ^ Laura Donnelly (15 May 2010). "Homeopathy is witchcraft, say doctors". London: The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 May 2010.
- ^ a b Ian Sample (August 2, 2010). "College of Medicine born from ashes of Prince Charles's holistic health charity". The Guardian. London.
- ^ Peter Dominiczak (20 August 2010). "Three years jail for accountant at Charles charity who stole £253,000". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 30 June 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
- PMID 21677014.
- S2CID 26752930.
- S2CID 206893456.
- S2CID 8061172.
- S2CID 72649598.
- ^ David Colquhoun (July 25, 2010). "Buckinghamgate: the new "College of Medicine" arising from the ashes of the Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health". DC's Improbable Science.
- ^ David Colquhoun (29 October 2010). "Don't be deceived. The new "College of Medicine" is a fraud and delusion".
- S2CID 21334595.