Protecting patients: new complementary therapy register opens for business

Patients who opt for complementary healthcare need to know their practitioner is properly trained, understands the limits of his or her competence, and will treat them safely.

That is why the Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health has worked hard with government and a dozen complementary healthcare professions to establish a robust voluntary regulation system for therapies that are not subject to statutory rules.

So it wants to be first to congratulate the new, independent Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) on setting up the first ever register of approved complementary therapists. Registrations in massage and nutritional therapies are expected this week and over the next few months. More professions are expected to follow soon. Aromatherapy is likely to be first, followed by the Alexander Technique, reflexology and others.

In future, the public will be able to check that practitioners have gone through the Council’s thorough vetting process and be assured that they meet the high standards demanded. What’s more, in the event of any problems, they will be able to use CNHC’s complaints process.

The Foundation’s Medical Director Dr Michael Dixon said:

'Today marks a significant milestone in improving patient safety. For the first time, there will be an umbrella body that is able to assure the public and other practitioners of professional standards in complementary healthcare.

'At the moment, only osteopathy and chiropractic are subject to statutory regulation, with acupuncture and herbal medicine likely to follow in the near future. So the CNHC initiative is very welcome.

'Millions of people every year use one or more complementary therapies, often alongside conventional treatment. Yet there has been nowhere that the public could check the qualifications and standards of most complementary healthcare practitioners. That is not good for patient safety.

“We wish CNHC every success for the future and encourage well qualified practitioners to make sure they are registered.'

More information about the register is available from CNHC: www.cnhc.org.uk or call 020 3178 2195. The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health also offers a wide range of information about integrated health at www.fih.org.uk

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1.   For more information and for interviews with Dr Michael Dixon, contact Pat Goodall: 01246 410707 or pat.goodall@fih.org.uk

2.   In 2005, the Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health commissioned Professor Julie Stone to lead a working group that examined options for the regulation of complementary healthcare. Consultation with a range of healthcare professions and other stakeholders showed clear support for a single, federal regulator rather than a series of regulatory bodies for each therapy. The Stone Report was published February 2008 and is available at: http://www.fih.org.uk/information_library/publications/regulation/a_federal_approch_to.html

3.   The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council was established in the summer of 2008 with support from the Foundation and initial funding from the Department of Health. Since then, it has been working closely with healthcare professions, it has finalised its Code of Conduct, Performance and Ethics, and has set up a range of functional committees. More information from www.chnc.org.uk or 020 3178 2195.

4.   Registration with CNHC is open to practitioners who are members of a professional body that has National Occupational Standards in place. They also need to demonstrate their qualifications and good character, and to sign up to the CNHC Code of Conduct, Performance and Ethics.