Princely row over herbal GPs

Some 150 GPs have signed up as associates of Prince Charles’ alternative medicine foundation, it was reported yesterday.

Associates of the Foundation for Integrated Health are expected to offer a range of herbal treatments and complementary medicines.

But the project was condemned by a leading researcher into alternative medicine.

Professor Edzard Ernst, of Exeter University, accused the foundation of putting out "dangerous and misleading information".

He told the Sunday Times: "If it enters the realm of general practice it seems to me more like an attempt to brainwash GPs and patients."

He added: "There is not a shred of evidence to clinically support using spiritual healing, craniosacral therapy (head massage) or acupuncture to stop smoking.

"This touch of royal support does complementary medicine no favours when we have a unique opportunity to place it on an evidence-based footing."

A spokesman for the foundation told the paper: "We believe that in time, by unifying like-minded doctors who want to integrate complementary healthcare into their practices, a wider range of treatments will be available to patients across the country."