Rebranding
It would appear from the Charity Commission record for the BHA that it has rebranded itself as Homeopathy UK. Supposedly this is to -
- Better reflect the charity's key characteristics to external audiences
- Be aligned with more modern nomenclature and thinking
- Allow the charity to be more effective in engaging the public to enable it to better meet its objects
The nature of the BHA is discussed here. The BHA may have well have purchased the domain homeopathyuk.org.uk but it is yet to rebrand itself online. Organisations rebrand for a various reasons. The more cynical might suggest that British Homeopathic Association as a brand has become tainted because of its failed judicial review.
Rebranding can be expensive. It's not always effective. It can be counter productive, especially if the target market consists of older consumers with long familiarity with the brand. Rebranding can alienate them and they may shift to other familiar brands. Brand loyalty is important to them and it works both ways.
The BHA is dependent on old people dying for most of its income but yet it is trying to reach out to other "external audiences".
Bailed out
The BHA's failed judicial review resulted in costs being awarded against them. It's not clear exactly how much they were but the latest accounts filed at Companies House suggest it was £111,714 or at least that was the amount externally funded (those accounts are worth reading because it's the same report that has to be submitted to the Charity Commission). The BHA managed to raise £30k+ via crowdfunding but where does from? The Friends of the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine who are discussed here? Someone else with deep pockets?
The Friends of the RHLIM are cash rich but associated with something that may disappear soon (the subject of a future post). There are questions regarding whether giving money to the BHA is consistent with their stated purpose -
TO SUPPORT AND ASSIST THE ROYAL LONDON HOSPITAL FOR INTEGRATED MEDICINE BY RAISING FUNDS AND MAKING DONATIONS TO THE HOSPITAL AND RUNNING A SNACK BAR FOR USE BY THE PATIENTS AND STAFF OF THE HOSPITAL.UK homeopathy is a small world and conflicts of interest with charities that support it are going to occur. But it's not just about conflicts of interest. The RHLIM function doesn't really exist anymore except as a few outpatient clinic sessions. The Royal London Homeopathic Hospital building is used for other purposes including Great Ormond Street Hospital outpatient clinics. Somehow I doubt that GOSH patients, parents thereof and clinicians would be refused service by the Friends' snack bar (although experience suggests Friends of hospitals can be incredibly petty and obstructive).
Last laugh
Despite the failure of the BHA's judicial review and the costs involved, there are GPs in England still prescribing homeopathy, albeit to a lesser degree. There was some media reporting of this but it isn't worth mentioning (mostly because they confuse guidance with a absolute ban). It is still the same GPs as discussed here. A generous interpretation is that they have taken NHS England guidance on board but the process of convincing patients to stop seeking NHS prescriptions for homeopathy is a slow process. There are alternative interpretations.
The BHA talks about funding low/no cost clinics but the reality is that it puts very little money towards this. It's not clear exactly what its future direction is. Historically, it basically partly funded the Faculty of Homeopathy but as explained here, the Faculty is in very serious decline.
Going back to the business of rebranding - it doesn't matter if an organisation changes its name, gets a new website with fancy graphics, etc, if it's the same people behind the organisation's failures still in place. Few organisations can change their culture without changing their leadership, especially if those leaders have been there for a long time.
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