The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health
Encyclopedia
The Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH) was a controversial charity run by Charles, Prince of Wales
and founded in 1993. The Foundation promoted alternative and complementary medicine
and lobbied for its inclusion in the National Health Service
. The charity closed in 2010 after allegations of fraud and money laundering led to the arrest of a former official.
Mike Dixon was appointed the Foundation's medical director. From 2005 to 2007, FIH received a grant from the Department of Health
to help organise the self-regulation of complementary therapies. There had been concern that with a large proportion of the public turning to complementary approaches, there were few safeguards in place to ensure that non-statutorily regulated therapists were safe, trained and would act in an appropriate way. FIH worked to bring together the representative bodies of many complementary professions to talk and agree standards. The result was been the formation of the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council
(CNHC) which had hoped to register 10,000 practitioners of complementary medicine by the end of 2009 but which by September 2009 had succeeded in enrolling less than a tenth of that number due to lack of interest on the part of some of their professional associations. The Department of Health is currently continuing to fund the CNHC but future funding will be dependent on substantial progress being made towards the target (which has now been reduced to 2,000). Alternative medicine campaigners argued that the move toward regulation conferred undue respectability on unproven and possibly unsafe CAM approaches.
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 promotion of which has occasionally resulted in controversy. In 2004, the Foundation divided the scientific and medical community over its campaign encouraging general practitioner
s to offer herbal and other alternative treatments to National Health Service patients, and in May 2006, Charles 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.
In April 2008, The Times
published a letter from Edzard Ernst
that asked the Prince's Foundation to recall two guides promoting "alternative medicine", saying: "the majority of alternative therapies appear to be clinically ineffective, and many are downright dangerous." A speaker for the foundation countered the criticism by stating: "We entirely reject 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... so that they can make informed decisions. The foundation does not promote complementary therapies." Ernst has recently published a book with science writer Simon Singh
condemning alternative medicine called Trick or Treatment: Alternative Medicine on Trial
. The book is ironically dedicated to "HRH the Prince of Wales" and the last chapter is very critical of his advocacy of "complementary" and "alternative" treatments.
The Prince's Duchy Originals
produce a variety of CAM products including a “Detox Tincture” that Professor Edzard Ernst has denounced as "financially exploiting the vulnerable" and "outright quackery
". 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.
, and a £300,000 grant from the Department of Health
for the regulation of complementary medicine.
(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.
On 31 October 2009 it was reported that Prince Charles had personally lobbied Health Secretary Andy Burnham regarding greater provision of alternative treatments on the NHS.
The charity's finance director, accountant George Gray, was convicted of theft totalling £253,000 and sentenced to three years in prison.
On 30 April 2010, just four days after the arrests, the FIH announced that it would close, dubiously claiming that it "has achieved its key objective of promoting the use of integrated health." The Foundation later stated that its plans to close had been brought forward by the fraud allegations.
, with which the Prince of Wales was not overtly involved. Several commenatators writing in The Guardian
and The British Medical Journal, have expressed the opinion that the new organisation is simply a re-branding of the Prince's Foundation, describing it as "Hamlet without the Prince".
In support of this connection with Prince Charles, alternative medicine critic and pharmacologist David Colquhoun
has argued that the College (originally called "The College of Integrated Health") is extremely well-funded 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".
These claims have been contested by the College.
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
and founded in 1993. The Foundation promoted alternative and complementary medicine
Alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
and lobbied for its inclusion in the National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
. The charity closed in 2010 after allegations of fraud and money laundering led to the arrest of a former official.
History
Prince Charles established the charity in 1993 to explore "how safe, proven complementary therapies can work in conjunction with mainstream medicine".Mike Dixon was appointed the Foundation's medical director. From 2005 to 2007, FIH received a grant from the Department of Health
Department of Health (United Kingdom)
The Department of Health is a department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for government policy for health and social care matters and for the National Health Service in England along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish,...
to help organise the self-regulation of complementary therapies. There had been concern that with a large proportion of the public turning to complementary approaches, there were few safeguards in place to ensure that non-statutorily regulated therapists were safe, trained and would act in an appropriate way. FIH worked to bring together the representative bodies of many complementary professions to talk and agree standards. The result was been the formation of the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council
Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council
The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council is an industry body which provides a voluntary register of alternative medicine therapists in the UK...
(CNHC) which had hoped to register 10,000 practitioners of complementary medicine by the end of 2009 but which by September 2009 had succeeded in enrolling less than a tenth of that number due to lack of interest on the part of some of their professional associations. The Department of Health is currently continuing to fund the CNHC but future funding will be dependent on substantial progress being made towards the target (which has now been reduced to 2,000). Alternative medicine campaigners argued that the move toward regulation conferred undue respectability on unproven and possibly unsafe CAM approaches.
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.
Controversy
Charles has demonstrated an interest in alternative medicineAlternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
, the promotion of which has occasionally resulted in controversy. In 2004, the Foundation divided the scientific and medical community over its campaign encouraging general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
s to offer herbal and other alternative treatments to National Health Service patients, and in May 2006, Charles made a speech to an audience of health ministers from various countries at the World Health Assembly
World Health Assembly
The World Health Assembly is the forum through which the World Health Organization is governed by its 194 member states. It is the world's highest health policy setting body and is composed of health ministers from member states....
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, urging them to develop a plan for integrating conventional and alternative medicine.
In April 2008, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
published a letter from Edzard Ernst
Edzard Ernst
Edzard Ernst is the first Professor of Complementary Medicine in the world, at the University of Exeter, England....
that asked the Prince's Foundation to recall two guides promoting "alternative medicine", saying: "the majority of alternative therapies appear to be clinically ineffective, and many are downright dangerous." A speaker for the foundation countered the criticism by stating: "We entirely reject 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... so that they can make informed decisions. The foundation does not promote complementary therapies." Ernst has recently published a book with science writer Simon Singh
Simon Singh
Simon Lehna Singh, MBE is a British author who has specialised in writing about mathematical and scientific topics in an accessible manner....
condemning alternative medicine called Trick or Treatment: Alternative Medicine on Trial
Trick or Treatment
Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial is a 2008 book about alternative medicine by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst. Singh is a physicist and the writer of several popular science books...
. The book is ironically dedicated to "HRH the Prince of Wales" and the last chapter is very critical of his advocacy of "complementary" and "alternative" treatments.
The Prince's Duchy Originals
Duchy Originals
Duchy Originals from Waitrose is a brand of organic food sold mainly in Waitrose stores in the United Kingdom, but also in Booths supermarkets and small independent stores. The Duchy Originals company was originally set up by Charles, Prince of Wales, in 1990 and named after the Duchy of Cornwall...
produce a variety of CAM products including a “Detox Tincture” that Professor Edzard Ernst has denounced as "financially exploiting the vulnerable" and "outright quackery
Quackery
Quackery is a derogatory term used to describe the promotion of unproven or fraudulent medical practices. Random House Dictionary describes a "quack" as a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, or...
". 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.
Funding
Between 2005 and 2007 the charity's annual turnover was about £1.2 million. In 2007 it received significant funding from The Prince's Charities FoundationThe Prince's Charities Foundation
The Prince’s Charities Foundation was founded by The Prince of Wales in 1979 and was previously called the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation. The intention of the Prince’s Charities Foundation is to support charitable bodies and purposes in which the Prince of Wales has a particular interest...
, and a £300,000 grant from the Department of Health
Department of Health (United Kingdom)
The Department of Health is a department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for government policy for health and social care matters and for the National Health Service in England along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish,...
for the regulation of complementary medicine.
Lobbying allegations
The Prince personally wrote at least seven letters to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory AgencyMedicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is the UK government agency which is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe....
(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.
On 31 October 2009 it was reported that Prince Charles had personally lobbied Health Secretary Andy Burnham regarding greater provision of alternative treatments on the NHS.
Fraud allegations and closure
In 2010, following accounting irregularities noted by the auditor, it was reported that the Metropolitan Police Economic and Specialist Crime Command had begun an inquiry into alleged fraud and two former officials at the Prince's Foundation were arrested for fraud believed to total £300,000.The charity's finance director, accountant George Gray, was convicted of theft totalling £253,000 and sentenced to three years in prison.
On 30 April 2010, just four days after the arrests, the FIH announced that it would close, dubiously claiming that it "has achieved its key objective of promoting the use of integrated health." The Foundation later stated that its plans to close had been brought forward by the fraud allegations.
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 The College of MedicineThe College of Medicine
The College of Medicine is a United Kingdom based organisation founded in 2010 for patients and healthcare professionals. The College states that it aims to "promote a more politically and professionally transparent, patient centred, and sustainable approach to healthcare, using whatever social or...
, with which the Prince of Wales was not overtly involved. Several commenatators writing in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and The British Medical Journal, have expressed the opinion that the new organisation is simply a re-branding of the Prince's Foundation, describing it as "Hamlet without the Prince".
In support of this connection with Prince Charles, alternative medicine critic and pharmacologist David Colquhoun
David Colquhoun
David Colquhoun, FRS is a British pharmacologist at University College London . He has contributed to the general theory of receptor and synaptic mechanisms of single ion channel function. He previously held the A.J. Clark chair of Pharmacology at UCL, and was the Hon. Director of the Wellcome...
has argued that the College (originally called "The College of Integrated Health") is extremely well-funded 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".
These claims have been contested by the College.