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 In May 2005 the Prince of Wales called for a more holistic approach towards medicine and the country's health.
During a conference of doctors in London he sustained that complementary and orthodox methods used to tackle diseases should be used in tandem.
Prince Charles first advocated the use of complementary medicines more than 20 years ago and has established the Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health.
In the Prince's opinion it is important to stress the significant role that nutrition plays in fighting growing health problems such as childhood obesity and allergies.
He urged individuals to take responsibility for their health and claimed that years of over-refining, processing and polluting food had led to the adverse health problems people suffered.
A year later, in May 2006, a group of Britain's leading doctors have urged NHS trust to stop using complementary therapies and to pay only for medicine “based on solid evidence” The letter (here in full), from 13 doctors, is being seen as a direct challenge to the Prince's campaign specially criticising two initiatives:
- a government-funded guide on homeopathy
- the Smallwood report, commissioned by Prince Charles, which suggested greater access to complementary therapies in the NHS might lead to widespread benefits.
Addressing the World Health Assembly in Geneva on May 23, Prince Charles claimed that: “The proper mix of proven complementary, traditional and modern remedies, which emphasises the active participation of the patient, can help to create a powerful healing force in the world.”
He added: “Many of today's complementary therapies are rooted in ancient traditions that intuitively understood the need to maintain balance and harmony with our minds, bodies and the natural world.”
About half of GPs are thought to refer patients to alternative therapists. Foulishness or wisdom?
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