Complementary Health Regulation: Inclusive Policy making gone mad
It is really sad to read about the Coroner's inquest into the death of Paul Howie. It is even more sad that it has taken a death to bring the Department of Health to their senses in this area of policy, the regulation of complementary health pracitioners . A couple of weeks ago on a radio show with a miniscule listenership [Behind the Issues on Anna Livia FM], I outlined the appaling lack of urgency displayed by the government, who have instigated a crazy slow motion system of policy making in this area. Working group after report after working group. Consultation seminars with all the practitioner organisations. More submissions. All views taken on board. Weekly minuted meetings going nowhere (despite the presence of the excellent Dr. Brian Kennedy). No leadership. More reports. What are Minister's for? (Even counselling is unregulated. Anyone in this coutry can put a brass plate on a door and call themselves a counsellor). Try to get something done before the next election or reshuffle please.As well as the crazy system of no regulation, we have no leaderhship on the efficacy of treatments. It's all very fine using rescue remedy for stress, but for the more serious issues ( I went into into depression and cancer in some detail), the public deserve leadership and protection. There is a duty on Health body's to provide guidance, even if people retain the right to refuse treatment, or seek a tratment of their choice. There has been no urgency to protect people in very vulnerable situations. And rather than reverting uncritically to the received wisdom of the biomedical model, policy makers could try to get their heads around an evidence-based integrative medical model. In the same arena, other recent deaths call into question the regulatory regime for pharmaceuticals. The public interest is not being advanced urgently enough in this area where huge corporate interests have been shown to be less than forthcoming with the potential risks of SSRIs for instance.
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