Alternative Medicine £10 million Credibility Boost

The Prince of Wales this month gave his backing to proposals which would see £10 million of government funds put towards research into the benefits and effects of alternative therapies and medicine.

Speaking at a conference at the Royal College of Physicians in London, Charles explained "the concept of integration [between conventional and alternative medicine] remains very close to my heart. For me, this starts with an integrated approach to the treatment of body, mind and spirit within each individual, rather than the current approach which looks at the separate mechanical parts and tends to ignore the whole person".

Today, more than 5 million people in the UK visit a complementary practitioner every year, spending more than £1.5 billion. But still, some conventional healthcare professionals remain sceptical about complementary health due to a lack of hard research findings.

The Prince added "the very popularity of non-conventional approaches suggests that people are either dissatisfied with the current orthodox treatment they are receiving or find genuine relief in such therapies".

Tuesday, 30 January 2001