5th March 2007 Dear Mr Henshaw, Thank you for your letters of ...

As is clear from the enclosed booklet the Foundation has no such agendaand it does not support or promote ‘alternative’ medicine. ‘Integratedhealth’ is the use of the best of all healthcare for the whole person. TheFoundation for Integrated Health does not encourage anyone, directly orindirectly, to refuse conventional treatment in favour of ‘alternative’methods. The Foundation believes that safe and effective complementarytherapies can play a useful part in promoting health and wellbeing, but itspecifically encourages anybody considering the use of complementarytherapies to consult his or her GP before doing so.(ii)The NHS paid for a publication which runs contrary to the officialNHS viewFollowing the Foundation's application for a £20,000 grant to produce ThePatients’ Guide on Complementary Medicine (sic), the Department ofHealth remained involved throughout the process and at no time expressedany concern about the contents of the Guide. In the Foundation’s view, theDepartment’s officials were entirely satisfied that the Guide had deliveredproperly on the basis of the original proposal. Please may we see yourevidence that this was not the case?Also, you say that “…when it was published, all evidence on safety andeffectiveness was omitted”; however, under the heading “What informationis there?” (pages 9-12), the Guide points readers to many sources ofinformation describing research and evidence about safety andeffectiveness of therapies. This allows the reader to check the latestinformation online, as well as to seek information from more than onesource.Furthermore, you say that “…critics believe the Guide is dangerous in thatthe advice it gives may encourage patients reading it to discontinueconventional treatment in favour of alternative therapies”; however, theGuide goes to great lengths to encourage patients to discuss treatment withtheir GPs before starting or ceasing any treatment:o under “Important points to be aware of before having treatment”there is a section called “Have you seen your doctor first?” (p8); itsays, among other things, “It is important that your doctor has thechance to rule out any dangerous or life-threatening illness and todiscuss treatment options with you”; ando another section (on the same page), “Keep everyone informed”,states “This is very important for your safety and includes tellingyour doctor what complementary treatments you are taking andletting your complementary practitioner know about any medicinesyour doctor has prescribed for you and any other complementarytreatments you are having…Different treatments can sometimeshave an effect on each other, which could make them work less