..and thus required to conform to occupational health and safety competency requirements?
A baby has been crushed to death in an accident that should never have happened.
"Baby crushed to death at Fravira Clinic, St Morris"
"THE Medical Board of South Australia has joined growing condemnation of "bogus practitioners" who take advantage of vulnerable people.
Board chief executive officer Joe Hooper today said a parliamentary inquiry had "unearthed some disturbing findings".
"These bogus practitioners are taking advantage of people when they are most vulnerable," he said. "In fact, to call them `health practitioners’ sullies the name of reputable, registered health professionals. We suggest using the term `alternative therapists’."
"For too long we’ve allowed anyone to practice in unregulated areas of health care without any real proper checks and balances," Mr Hunter said.
"No checks . . . no safety training, no checks on occupational health and safety competency.”
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,25649902-5006301,00.html
Curious George, any country, and not "are" they regulated, but "should" they be regulated?
Nature Boy, what kind of amateur cowboy outfit let allows babies to play around dangerous equipment during the mother’s treatment?
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I’m torn about this question. On the one hand I feel like it’s the government’s job to protect some people from other’s who would take advantage of them. On the other hand these people are adults who should be able to make informed decisions about their health on their own. Of course, you could say that about the medicine that is regulated. As I write this I realize that basically we should regulate alternative health treatments and practitioners. When I say ‘we’ I mean America.
Yes, doctors make mistakes. Everyone does. Do you visit an "alternative mechanic" who treats your car’s dented bumper with a mixture of 1 part gas to 100,000,000 parts water after your "traditional mechanic" makes a mistake? No, you decide if the mistake was caused by negligence or not and then either forgive them or get a new mechanic. Apply the same to doctors. Untrained and unscrupulous alternative therapists are going to make far more mistakes and far worse mistakes because of their lack of training and scruples. Bring all of it under regulation; acupuncture, chiropractric, homeopathy, reflexology, herbology, all of it. Test it all, keep what works and regulate it and throw out the rest.
NO, no no! Do you think regulatory agencies are so much better? There are doctors who have amputated the wrong limb. There are over 100,000 adverse drug reactions every year.
I know that when I go to my local city government to handle something, the staff in general do not treat me with respect. These government agencies have a tendency to throw service out the window because they do not earn their money. They demand their money through taxes and we the public who pay are treated, in general, shabbily. More regulation is not a guarantee that shysters will no longer exist.
The answer is to educate people in general. Our policy at home is to ALWAYS consult a medical doctor first. Then if desired, use alternatives remedies along with the mainstream medical solution. Any alternative practitioner that we use has credentials. Our Chinese doctor has a PHD in medicine.
It is the public that needs to take the time for research and learning so that they are not soliciting charlatans for help. I firmly believe that charlatans will still exist as they do in the actual medical industry, which is heavily regulated.
We have to stop handing over common sense to outside control because we do not want to take responsibility for our own actions. We would like to be in a position to blame someone else. I am so tired of this mentality and the press pushes the POOR victim to the hilt.
Give me a break.
In the US many "alternative" therapies are regulated at the state level. There are often restrictions on what the state licensed and certified practitioners are allowed to treat. Also there are educational and ethical standards enforced by governing bodies that issue certifications in fields of practice.
Guess it depends on what country you are talking about.
Edit:
Ah, but by the tone of the excerpt you posted and the article you cited it implies there is no regulation at all.
I do think there needs to be regulation to insure practitioners are trained and qualified, and in fact there often already are regulations in place.
The problem in the story you cited is not one of unregulated practice. The baby didn’t die because of an "alternative" medical practice. The baby wasn’t being treated. This is a tragic story of negligence while operating a piece of equipment.
I understand where you are coming from.Mike Tysons 4 year old daughter was crushed at his own home gym. Many years ago a mother put her baby down while she strapped her older child in the seat belt. (With things on he mined) she got in to her own car and backed over her own child. Accidents are going to happen. The point is even if you register alternate practitioners their still are going to be heaps with false certificates. Some haven’t done the training are better then the ones that have and know more information. You will not stop the quacks as a lot of them will forge certificates.
I am a licensed Alternative Heath Care Practicioner. I am a Doctor of Naturopathy (ND), and a Licensed Massage Therapist(LMT). I also practice Hypnotherapy. I am licensed by the State of Tennessee.
My first suggestion would be to see why the child was ‘crushed’, before running off half-cocked. There are no legitimate Alternative Therapies that would involve anything that could ‘crush’ anybody.
Regulation is not the answer. Nothing is more regulated in the US than the Health Care Industry. Yet, a Presidential Task Force in 2000 stated that 60,000 to 98,000 people die every year, and over 2 MILLION people suffer debilitating conditions as a result of Medical mistakes, Iatrogenic (doctor, or hospital-caused) illnesses, drug reactions, and improper treatment, at an annual cost of over 49 BILLION dollars. Government Regulation doesn’t have a very good track record of protecting the public at-large.
Instead, what you need is the Empowerment mind-set. Take charge of YOUR life. When you are thinking of selecting a treatment, or practicioner, ask questions. Do research. Where did they go to school? How long have they been practicing? What kind of track record does this treatment have. Talk to people who have had it, and maybe been to this practicioner. You can make much better decisions when you go into a situation with your eyes open.
The industry, and consumers can do a much better job of protecting themselves than the Government can.
well they really wouldnt be so alternative then would they?
I think Nature boy’s post shows how regulation IS needed:
"I am a licensed Alternative Heath Care Practicioner. I am a Doctor of Naturopathy (ND), and a Licensed Massage Therapist(LMT). I also practice Hypnotherapy. I am licensed by the State of Tennessee."
A doctor of rubbish, a practioner of scams, with the certficates to prove it too! What hope is there for the lay person doing their research? Anyone would be forgiven for believing he’s qualified or trained in something that alludes to health! Simply writing it with Upper Case Initials doesn’t add gravitas…….
Regulation would prevent such deceit and also prevent anyone from calling themselves a ‘doctor’ when clearly they’re anything but.
A recent case in the UK has chiropractors in disarray after they were challenged on their claims about ‘curing’ people and also wrongly calling themselves ‘doctors’.