Homeopathic Treatment of Autism - Evidence #6

As discussed in a previous post the Society of Homeopaths (SoH) have been aware of CEASE therapy for some time. Their Annual Review 2016 says -

The CPD audit this year highlights how members are investing in professional development with some clear trends emerging. Of particular note was the number of members investing time and commitment to improving their presence via social media and other electronic mediums. CEASE therapy, nutrition and the sensation method were also noted as popular CPD topics among our membership. 

CEASE therapy has been around for a while but it's not clear when the first English language courses were run or those run in the UK (2011 at a guess). But that the SoH felt it worth mentioning is telling. The SoH have content on their website that relates to CEASE therapy (the link can be seen here) but it is "members only" content. What it says is unknown but it could be of concern to the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).

It's known from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that the PSA were concerned about a video in the members section featuring Yvonne Stone (mentioned in this post) talking about CEASE therapy. They were concerned that Stone mentioned "insidious levels of vaccination damage" and that this indicated anti-vaccination bias - Stone certainly is biased and...

The SoH were made aware of concerns over CEASE by PSA but were made aware in December 2017 and onwards of this of some of the issues raised in this blog. It is unknown if the SoH or any of its members read this blog but it doesn't matter. What matters is that the SoH were made aware that CEASE is a safeguarding concern. They have had many months to start to deal with the issue but seemingly have done nothing concrete.

Events that have nothing to do with PSA may overtake the SoH and their members.

This post will also look at some of their members and their claims, although in less detail than in previous posts as much of the discussion of issues has already been covered. It will pretty much cover off members whose websites have anything to say about CEASE therapy that have not been mentioned before.

Alison Jones
Jones' website looks initially innocuous but has a blog post on CEASE. It is odd that it mentions autism it makes no mention of vaccination. Something of concern are statements like this -

• it could be that as part of the preparation for getting pregnant we discover from hair analysis that the patient’s  body has been discharging high levels of metals such as lead which could for example be as a result of  old lead water pipes in their house.

And -

• So an easy example might be a hair analysis showing what the patient’s body has been getting rid of over the last eight weeks.

Much is made of these lead pipes and pregnancy but hair analysis? It certainly does have uses - it can detect long term exposure to heavy metals for example but most of those vendors that offer it make wildly exaggerated claims. The kind of hair analysis that a homeopath might order is likely of little value - and radionic hair analysis is known of. Lead poisoning is normally diagnosed by blood tests and the treatment is elimination of the source of the lead and chelation therapy. To suggest CEASE as a treatment for lead poisoning is highly irresponsible. Jones links to the CEASE therapy website.

Your remedy will be either given to you at the consultation or sent to you. The remedy may be administered by sugar pills, which have been infused with the remedy, or in liquid form which includes the homeopathic remedy.  You may only be given one pill until your next appointment, or you may need to take your remedy more frequently, even daily, depending on your symptoms.

Except in the case of the relatively few homeopathic remedies that are registered with the Medicines and Healthcare Product Regulatory Agency (MHRA), this would be illegal. As discussed in many other blogposts, unlicensed products have to be obtained by patients themselves.



Aneta Lesniewska

Lesniewska is Polish and unusual that she worked as a Special Needs teacher -

I have been passionate about people since I was very young. I often question myself on how we can realise our potential and optimise any area of our life. I worked with autistic children, ADHD disorder and children with learning disabilities as a Special Needs Teacher when I lived in Poland 

I hold M.A. in Special Needs Education from the Academy of Pedagogy in Warsaw. I moved to UK in 2004 and have been working in the health sector for over 10 years. I'm passionate about alternative therapies and I have been constantly training in therapies such as: Hypnotherapy & NLP, Peak States Therapy and coaching people to increase their potential.

Most readers will be familiar with the concept of hypnotherapy. NLP is Neuro-Linguistic Programming - which is dubious to say the least - some readers may be familiar with it. Peak States Therapy is very obscure. The list of techniques used is biazrre.

I graduated in 2016, I now work full time  as  a Peak States therapist specialising in Traumatic Brain Injury www.peakstates.com  and Homeopathy treating a wide range of conditions, but my main focus is treating children with autism, ADHD disorder and various problems children with learning disabilities. I also treat and help their parents. I believe homeopathy can increase the child's potential and reverse conditions often caused by toxins.

This is disturbing but seems to imply Lesniewska does not use Peak States Therapy on children. On this page  Lesniewska states -

Autism, just like most other modern illnesses, does not have a single cause. Vaccine damage, pharmaceutical drugs, emotional stress, and toxic exposures such as glyphosate in food are at the top of the list of causes.

No. On this page she talks about Homeopathic Detox Therapy (HDT) -

I’m a certified Human Chemistry and Homeopathic Detox therapist and have completed seminars with Ton Jansen -classical homeopath and developer of the Human Chemistry and Homeopathic Detox Therapy method. 

Homeopathic Detox Therapy ( HDT) aims to detoxify, balance and restore. It uses a multi- prolonged approach to reprogram the body at a deep, cellular level. The treatment is extremely gentle and offers a quick and lasting recovery. 

The goal in HDT is to understand the biochemistry behind the pathology and mental destruction

She doesn't mention CEASE and seems not  to have any training in it.Ton Jansen worked with Tinus Smits and HDT is essentially a development of CEASE therapy. Reprogram the body at a deep cellular level? Are cells programmable? Can they be made to perform useful computations? Lesniewska goes onto state what HDT can "detox" -

• Steroids artificial hormones treating eczema psoriasis and other skin condition.
• Unbalanced female hormones during menstruations
• Chemicals such as petrol, vinyl, different radiation
• Vaccinations: all childhood vaccination , travel vaccines, Influenza vaccine, Hepatitis A&B
• Other medications: Antibiotics, anti- depressant, statins, salbutamol
• Minerals: Aluminium, Mercury, Lead, Asbestos, heavy metals as component of vaccines
• Narcotics: opiates, anaesthetics after operation

Anita Happs
Happs makes no mention of autism but does link to the CEASE therapy website as well as this once anti-vaccination site that seems to have become something else.

Happs' website does not seem to have changed in years and looks dated. This is not a bad thing in itself but it does again raise the question of how important internet marketing is for lay homeopaths.

Anne Do Espirito Santo

Do Espirito Santo's website is very sparse but mentions CEASE and spells out the acronym.

Apparently -

In 1991, I was registered with the Society of Homeopaths and to date remain a member of this acclaimed professional body.During my homeopathic career I have worked in the capacity of lecturer, tutor, supervisor and clinician in various prestigious colleges of homeopathy.

Clinician? No. A clinician is some who diagnoses and treats patients - in the UK that would be understood  to be doctors, nurse practitioners and some allied healthcare practitioners - generally those with statutory recognition. Lay homeopaths aren't qualified to diagnose patients in terms of the marketing claims that they can make and by extension, the term "clinician" should not be either.

Donna Draper
Draper mentions both vaccination and autism on her website. 

Although my work covers the whole spectrum of conditions that homeopathic medicine can help with, I do have a particular interest in working with children and adults suffering from conditions that may have arisen from vaccinations. This includes all those people who have “never been well since…” they were vaccinated. I have seen the health and behaviour of both adults and children improve considerably following homeopathic treatment.

May have arisen? Curious wording but even mention of this is suggestive of an anti-vaccination stance.

I am one of the few specially trained and qualified homeopaths to offer CEASE Therapy which is a very effective and safe way to manage and improve conditions arising on the Autistic spectrum. It combines homeopathy and nutritional supplements alongside a gentle, structured detoxification. This protocol has not only been successful in helping people on the Autistic Spectrum but also people suffering from a variety of other chronic conditions. (For more information about CEASE: www.cease-therapy.com)

 Effective? CEASE as described certainly is not safe.

I am a fully trained and experienced ‘Asyra’ Practitioner and use this Bio-Energetic Health Screening technology as an additional tool to help me in my practice. Asyra is a computerised system based on Kinesiology, Acupuncture and Chinese energy meridians. This screening technology gives feedback on the energetic status of the body and can indicate toxic stressors, allergens, organ weaknesses and food intolerances. I do offer Asyra health screening as a ‘stand alone’ therapy without a homeopathic consultation if it is requested. Please see elsewhere on my website for further information.

Asyra has been mentioned before. It's a bogus machine that supposedly can diagnose all sorts of things. Draper offers clinics in the same premises as the company behind it Nutrivital Health Limited who also offer the glorified and vastly overpriced TENS device known as SCENAR. Yes, Draper uses that as well. Worryingling Nutrivital sell apricot kernals claiming they contain "vitamin B17" - amygladin is give it its proper name is highly toxic. Nutrivital mentions Draper on this webpage about their clinic.

Draper offers consultations via Skype and telephone.

Emma Dalton
Dalton mentions CEASE on this page as well as linking to the CEASE website.

Emma has trained for 4 years in London and has worked in clinics in London and Suffolk. Emma completed a 4 year post graduate course with Dr Yubraj Sharma, London. She is a trained CEASE therapist and is available to give CPD lectures on many homeopathic topics including the use of herbal medicine. She is a recognised Supervisor for The Society of Homeopaths.

Sharma is/was the Principal of the School of Shamanic Homeopathy - its website would appear to be dead. Yes, it is as peculiar as it sounds. The idea that Dalton is recognised as a supervisor by the SoH is troubling. 

A Qualified Medical Herbalist has a BSc or equivalent in Herbal Medicine, has studied orthodox medicine as well as plant medicine and is trained in the same diagnostic skills as a GP.

No. A GP will have completed 5 years minimum doing a medical degree and then 5 years as a foundation doctor/specialty registrar. General Practitioner training itself takes 5 years. Even if this were true, would Dalton switch from differential diagnosis when performing "medical" herbalism (assuming that's what she actually does) to more bizarre notions when undertaking homeopathy? 

Biopuncture is a therapy whereby specific locations are injected with biological products. The majority of the products are derived from plants. Most of these injections are given into the skin or into muscles.

Dalton injects people? I doubt that the SoH would consider injection acceptable part of practice - it is likely to trouble the PSA. There's nothing illegal in the medically unqualified giving injections - one obvious example would be parents injecting insulin into diabetic children - but injection carries a lot more risks than ingesting an inert sugar pill.

On the continent this is known as Homotoxicology Mesotherapy and has been widely practiced by European Homeopaths for many years. It involves Homeopathic remedies being injected directly into the injured body parts e.g. knees, shoulders, back.

Mesotherapy is a French invention. There is no evidence of efficacy, full stop, and some reports of harm. Using homeopathic preparations which de facto have no efficacy, well, "Homotoxicology Mesotherapy" is all risk with no benefit beyond placebo. 

Are these products safe for me?Yes, because the ampoules do not contain high concentrations of active substances. They usually contain diluted products. As a result, toxic side effects are very unlikely. Additionally, the ampoules used in Biopuncture are manufactured by companies that guarantee the production quality of their products. Most of the ampoules used for injection are made in Germany and are held to very strict quality control regulations.

None of these products are registered in the UK. They are unlicensed medicines. Dalton is legally prohibited from obtaining them.

Dalton on her blog states -

I have been asked why there is little information on my website. The reason is that under current guidelines from the Advertising Standards Authority, I cannot say what I do. Certain words are not allowed to be used including the words treat or cure. So for example if someone contacts me and asks “Can you treat migraines?” I am not allowed to say yes. I have to respond that I have people consult me and I consider the whole person holistically.

Very strange. Dalton also links to the Freedom4Health website. Freedom4Health were mentioned in this previous post.

Emma Field
Field has a whole page on CEASE and makes all sorts of extraordinary claims that certainly would be in breach of any reasonable interpretation of the SoH's position statement let alone advertising regulations, consumer potection law or medicines regulations.

I first learnt about treating autism with homeopathy when I was in college, a friend of mine was doing her project on it and we discussed the basics in class.

A friend doing a project? Conducting unethical trial on autistic children.

Originally I knew of Tinus Smits who formulated the CEASE method of treating children with autistic spectrum expressions. His original ideal was that when you are born you have an empty bucket that equat es to your health. From the time that you are a glint in your father.s eye, you already have the possibility to have many toxicity factors in your make up . each of which is a drop in your bucket of health. So for instance if your father was a regular drug/alcohol user then there are many drops of negative toxicity in the bucket before you are even born. Mum and Dad smoked dope the night you were conceived t hen there are more toxic drops in your bucket and it already has an inch or so of toxicity in the bottom of it before you are even born. 

So comes the day of your birth and you are born with mucus and sticky eyes, because the parents smoked the dope and so in the hospital they give you AB's in order to help clear the discharge and the lungs ..more toxic drops..add to that the fact that every child in the UK is given 34 vaccinations before the age of 4.5 and you have many, many more toxic drops into the system. Add onto that any other possible toxins that the system may well have come into contact with . Mum heated your baby food in a microwave in plastic, mum had a glass of wine whilst breast feeding...Dad decides to DIY the house to prepare for the new baby . so there are paint strippers, paints, etc. more toxins that the baby is breathing in that may have an effect if he is already overloaded and has the susceptibility. 

Smits felt that the bucket getting full and starting towards the point of overflowing was when a child/adult tips over into poor health and is where the Autism comes to the surface. 

Oh the toxins! Oh the bucket! This bears little resemblance to what Smits said in his book. Smits believed that vaccines cause autism in no uncertain terms by disrupting "energetic fields". Field comes across as anti-vaccination.

So the latest concept of treating with CEASE therapy is to treat the patient with a detox made up of a mix of all the toxins in one family group.i.e. AB's, or vaccinations in one remedy. This means you c an move through the detoxes more quickly and often with greater results. You cannot mix the toxins..there are groups of steroids, vaccinations, pregnancy medications, contraceptives, paints . phenols etc., heavy metals, recreational drugs you name it there is probably a mix for it and these mixes we call 'Polys'!

 AB = antibiotic. What is described is Homeopathic Detox Therapy (HDT) - a development of CEASE. And these "Polys" are unlicensed medicines. This is not classical homeopathy - it violates several tenets of mainstream homeopathy. Oh, but the polys are remedies made from families of toxins! But hang on, who determines what toxins belong in which family? Is it based on chemistry? There are different types of antibiotics with different modes of action.

So in my practise now I treat many Autistic/Asperger.s patients with the CEASE method . I also use the method to detox patients who are not Autistic, as this helps to .clear. blockages that may affect an otherwise good prescription and stop it from working. If a patient has used steroid creams, AB's or any other prescription/recreational drugs long term there may be damage to the cells of the body that need to be healed and cleansed before constitutional treatment can work efficiently. I currently treat patients who are alcoholics, drug addicts etc. who all do very well with treatment to detox them from their chosen substance!

So inert sugar pills can treat addiction? The term "detox" is used in terms of alcohol and drug dependency treatment but it is a misnomer based on the discredited "autotoxin" theory. In reality, it often consists of prescribing medicines such as benzodiazepines to reduce withdrawal symptoms - "cold turkey" is unpleasant and can be dangerous, it's often necessary to reduce intake before cessation. This is followed by psychological therapies. Field would appear to have no training in psychological therapies, so arguably she is practicing outside of her competence.

Field used to be a dancer. She describes becoming involved in a number of therapies due to injury. Her price list shows her charging for unlicensed medicines but also food allergy testing. It doesn't describe what is meant by that but this page does.

It is muscle testing/kinesiology. Every living thing or once living thing has a magnetic energy. If you place two magnets together negative to negative they will repel each other. So you hold your arm out and I apply pressure to it whilst you hold a glass vial containing different food substances. 

If you have a negative factor in your gut, i.e. it has been damaged by what you have been eating in some way, when you introduce that damaging substance to the body again (the glass vial of food substance), you will experience muscle weakness as the body repels it (and you will not be able to hold your arm up against my pressure as the muscles go weak). 

If you think about it, not only will the muscle that I am testing be weak should you have an intolerance/allergic reaction to a food substance or other allergen, but your whole system will be weakened including your gut.

Whilst kinesiology is a real thing what Field is talking about isn't kinesiology and certainly can't be used to test for allergies. 

Geetu Anand
Anand has a page on CEASE. It spells out the acronym in full and also links to the CEASE website.

I am passionate about helping children diagnosed with ASD to balance their mental emotional and physical state and live life to their full potential. 

CEASE Therapy (Complete Elimination of Autistic Spectrum Expression) is a safe, effective and non-toxic step-by-step protocol developed by the late Dr Tinus Smits to help treat Autism, vaccine injury and many other chronic health conditions, as well as conditions that are linked to toxicity caused by environmental factors and conventional medications.

Vaccine injury? No. If Anand were genuine in her desire to help autistic children, she would not offer the medical neglect that is CEASE therapy.

Gill Marshall
Marshall has a page on Children & Special Needs -

As a homeopath, I have been working with this group of children for 15 years. My interest and knowledge has also grown through volunteering: with children with complex physical disabilities, with sensory impairments, with autism and with other additional needs.  

I have worked with youngsters with a range of diagnoses: autism spectrum disorder (ASD)(including what was formerly called Asperger Syndrome), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), cerebral palsy (CP) and Down's Syndrome (DS), also with children with less common diagnoses as well as with those not yet diagnosed.

One would hope that volunteering would involve training in safeguarding. This page also talks about parents seeking her out to "help their child with difficulties they believe stem from vaccinations or other medication side effects". No mention of CEASE is made there but is on her About page.

I am a certified CEASE therapist too. CEASE therapy is an approach that uses homeopathic remedies to address persisting side effects from medications (including the contraceptive pill, vaccinations, antibiotics and more). It is a powerful homeopathic protocol for deeply treating and clearing toxicity in the body.

Powerful? Ineffective and there are no persisting side effects from vaccination.

Marshall talks about treating autistic children on her blog in several posts. This one talks about a "regression" of an autistic child after an operation. It is strange how anesthesia is implicated when very clearly the child was stressed by the experience and no mention is made of the nature of the operation. Marshall talks about constipation here - the contradiction of qouting sensible advice and then recommending bowel nosodes is striking. Bowel nosodes are homeopathic remedies made from faeces - especially diarrhoea from very ill people. Marshall talks about sensory processing issues here.

Of more interest is this post that talks about a "study" of homeopathic treatment of special needs. It talks about MYMOP - Measure Your Medical Outcome Profile. Marshall is not alone amongst homeopaths in using MYMOP. MYMOP is interesting in a number of ways but it is worth pointing out that it is being misused. To begin with, it measures your outcome profile, not that of another person. It is not validated for children - although in theory a children with the necessary maturity and language comprehension skills could complete it. The designer Charlotte Patterson suggests an 11 year old could complete it. MYMOP is also unsuitable for infrequent, periodic problems and better for continuous problems. The study is really feeble to say the least.

Gill Upham
Upham has a page on CEASE therapy. It spells out the acronym in full and links to the CEASE website.

CEASE therapy was developed by a Dutch homeopath, Dr Tinus Smits. CEASE stands for Complete Elimination of Autistic Spectrum Expression, and the treatment involves detoxification of all possible causative factors, including vaccination, medication, environmental toxins, effects of illness, etc. The causes of autism are poorly understood, but in some cases there are strong links to one particular trigger, such as a vaccine. Most children are healthy enough to withstand any possible side effects of vaccination, but if a child is particularly susceptible to this, then in some cases they can be adversely affected; parents sometimes notice that their child’s eczema starts or worsens after one of the routine vaccinations, for example. Susceptibility varies within us all, and you will have noticed that some of us are more prone to catching colds or stomach bugs, for example, and that even within a family or other community, not everybody catches every bug that goes around. So it makes sense that some people are more likely to be affected by a medication or vaccination than others are.

Upham clearly implies that vaccination, among other things, causes autism. No mention of evidence of genetic causes.

I trained as a CEASE therapist in 2014, and my experiences to date are that significant changes can take place in a child’s sleep and behaviour using this method, after initially using more conventional homeopathic treatment. My advice to parents is that it can be life-changing, as long as you are prepared for the process to take time and for the ups and downs it can bring.

Hardly "complete elimination" and how long is the process supposed to take?

Joanna Shipley
Shipley doesn't seem to talk about CEASE therapy or autism in an active sense but talks about going for training. The page repeats the usual nonsense about CEASE and links to the CEASE therapy website as well as Smits' book on Amazon. It also links to an Amy Lansky video. Lansky and claims of "cure" of autism was discussed in this post (see under Simon Taffler).

Shipley is very likely anti-vaccination looking at her Facebook page. She reposts Arnica Group posts. Shipley is involved with the Salisbury Homeopathy College (SHC) which hosted this talk. SHC and Shipley are discussed here. This tweet also gives the impression of anti-vaccination - Donegan is notorious and also gave a talk at SHC.

Julia Lockwood
Lockwood doesn't say much about CEASE but on the What I Treat page -

I am a qualified CEASE practitioner. CEASE was first developed by a Dutch doctor, Tinus Smits MD, to treat autistic children, and is now being practised, refined and developed by more than 500 homeopaths worldwide, who are linked by a strong and collaborative network.

Network? If it exists, no obvious sign of it online. Lockwood also links to the Amy Lansky video mentioned above. On her About Me page -

I am a certified CEASE practitioner, which means I am trained to use homeopathy to detoxify in serious conditions, such as autism.

No.

Karen Sternhell
Sternhell mentions CEASE therapy here and links to the CEASE therapy website.

Lucinda Torabi
Torabi was one of the SoH members (along with Ursula Kraus-Harper) that wrote to the SoH about the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Not that much came of that but it does suggest that Torabi might not be particularly willing to comply with the SoH position on CEASE.

Torabi makes mention of CEASE on a Homeopathy and Autism page. The title of that page implies that homeopathy can treat autism - which is not permissible although the SoH are unlikely to interpret the position that was effectively forced on them in that way. 

Margaret Kincade
Kincade mentions CEASE therapy here -

In 2011 I qualified as a CEASE practitioner – this is a methodology that was developed by homeopath Tinus Smits. He was a visionary and worked with many autistic children to relieve symptoms and improve their quality of life as well as their families. For me, CEASE is a methodology that sits along with many other methodologies that I have studied and can employ if classical prescribing is not making the progress I would have expected.

Smits was a visionary? Only if his visions are understood as hallucinations. It has to rememberd that Smits did not invent CEASE therapy - it was the Universal Intelligence acting through him. 

Melissa Foreman
Foreman makes mention of CEASE on her Qualifications page -

I am also qualified as a CEASE therapist. Cease stands for Complete Elimination of Autistic Spectrum Expression and is an effective way of treating autism through elimination of causative toxic exposures such as vaccines and regular medication.

CEASE is not effective. Vaccines and "regular" medications do not cause autism.

Merran Sell
Sell has a page on Autism/Aspergers.

Some years ago I read about Tinus Smits, a Dutch doctor and homeopath, who had developed the CEASE protocol for working with autistic, Asperger’s and ADHD children, as well as many others, to great effect. I started to apply some of his techniques and found that this certainly improved the outcomes.

In October 2011 I attended the first CEASE course in this country, along with 90 other homeopaths from all around the world. It was an extremely useful and enlightening course and I am now a homeopathic CEASE registered practitioner. You can find further information if you Click here www.cease-therapy.com and then to find the register scroll down the righthand side of the home page click on cease-therapy.com/make-appointment and fill in West Byfleet or an area close to Woking.

This tells us when the first CEASE course was held in the UK. An attendance of 90 is quite surprising.

I have worked with autistic, Asperger’s, ADD and ADHD children for over 20 years as a special education needs teacher, in specialist schools and as a Special Education Needs Coordinator in a mainstream junior school. During this time I have also worked with these children in my homeopathic clinic.

Sell should have had extensive safeguarding training. She should be more than aware that medical neglect is a serious concern. Treating children that she worked with as a teacher/coordinator is ethically questionable to say the least. Her entry on the CEASE therapy website seems to imply that she no longer teaches.

Muhammad Hayaat Riaz Khan

Khan has a page on CEASE but it doesn't say anything that hasn't already been mentioned. Of course, it repeats the claim that vaccines, toxins, etc cause autism.

Khan's biography makes for strange reading. It is full of self-promotion and questionable phraseology. To a degree, it reads like the site of homeopaths from the Indian sub-continent.

Muhammad Hayaat R. Khan is a registered Homeopathic Consultant and Director of The Zenith Clinic For Complementary HealthCare and is the visionary behind The Zenith Clinic mantra. Muhammad Hayaat has been studying Homeopathic Medicine for the past 11 years. He has been in private general practice for the past 5 years with a special interest in children’s complaints. His medical studies have spanned Leeds University, BIH London, North West College Of Homeopathy and St Georges Medical School London. He has had the privilege of studying under world renowned emminent Homeopathic Doctors, such as Dr Jonathan Hardy, Dr Jeff Johnson and Dave Mundy.

Homeopathic Consultant? Private general practice? Both of these imply a medical qualification that Khan does not have. Leeds University does have a School of Medicine. St Georges is well regarded. However, Khan does not seem to have a medical degree so what his "medical studies" consisted of is a mysteries. Johnathan Hardy is a member of the Faculty of Homeopathy and does offer training but to medical professionals only. However, he does do seminars that appear to be open to anyone. Jeff Johnson is a vet. He doesn't seem to offer training but does offer to give lectures. Dave Mundy may have studied osteopathy but is not a registered osteopath - he is a lay homeopath and has lectured at the North West College Of Homeopathy.

After completing his theology studies at Darul U Loom Bury, he was advised by his spiritual Shaykh and Mentor, Hadhrat Mowlana Yusuf Motala Saab (D.B) to study Homeopathic Medicine. Muhammad Hayaat has always been deeply interested in medicine; hence after graduating from the University of Leeds in 2001, he subsequently enrolled on the Professional Homeopathic Practitioner course with the B.I.H in London and gained his licence to practice Homeopathy in 2006 after 5 years of study. To further advance his studies and proficiency, he subsequently enrolled on an additional four years advanced course with The North West College of Homeopathy in Manchester, from where he graduated in July 2013.

Khan's religious beliefs are not relevant to this post. Khan has a BA, which if from Leeds likely had nothing had nothing to do with medicine. The BIH is the British Institute of Homeopathy. The history of the BIH is somewhat murky. Currently, it exists as an online course provided based in New Jersey. It previously did seem to be based in the UK. It did offer a D.I.Hom (Diploma of Homeopathy) at one point. However, it is not recognised by any of the UK trade associations but this document from 2005 suggests that at one time it was. It's not clear when it stopped being recognised or when it shifted from the UK to the USA. Khan can only be a member of the SoH by virtue of having qualified from the North West College Of Homeopathy which doesn't offer an "advanced course" - just a 4 year practitioner course. Khan joined the SoH in July 2013. It's suspected he was a member of the Alliance of Registered Homeopaths (ARH) in the past. 

Khan offers a number of peculiar treatments that have nothing to do with homeopathy. Whether he performs all of them himself is different to say. No mention is made of any other practitioners at his Zenith Clinic although the website mentions female practitioner(s) are available. The Facebook page has reviews that mention cupping as well as homeopathy. Khan may be a member of the British Cupping Society (BCS) - he appears to have "certificates" from them - but there doesn't seem to be a way to find practitioners. The BCS seem to be in bed with the dubious General Regulatory Council for Complementary Therapies who have been mentioned in passing several times in previous posts often in conjuction with Freedom4Health.Colonic hydrotherapy is another staple of quackery. Sports massage may seem innocuous but any manipulative therapy carries risks, especially if performed by the unqualified. 

As for food intolerance testing, Khan would appear to have "certificates" in "B.E.R" testing - which turns out to be Bio-Energetic Resonance testing and uses machines like the Asyra.

Khan offers "fat freezing" or more correctly Cryolipolysis and be aware that the article has questionably bias in favour and underplays potential side effects. He uses a 3D Lipomed machine and turns up on this website as a clinic. The world of non-surgical cosmetic procedures is largely unregulated. The machines often used are medical devices yet very few of them seem to be correctly registered and authorised. There generally aren't restrictions on who can use these devices either. 

Teeth whitening? To quote from Khan's website -

At the Zenith Clinic our teeth whitening products are the best on the market, because we care about your teeth. There are two options: In Practice whitening (application by the dentist) or Home Whitening. In Practice whitening costs a little more but guarantees an excellent level of whiteness (known in the industry as a B1 shade). If you ask in one of our practices, they can show you a colour shade sample. Teeth whitening is generally suitable and safe for everyone and will not harm your teeth. 

Khan is not a dentist. The products that he could legally offer are the kind that can be bought over the counter in high street pharmacies. Illegal teeth whitening has become a big concern, see this story for example. If Khan is offering illegal products, rather than making odd marketing claims, he could face huge fines.

Niki McGlynn

McGlynn has a page that mentions CEASE therapy.

CEASE therapy is a particular way of applying homeopathy that was developed for the treatment of children with autism, however it can be effective for anyone who has a bad reaction to a specific conventional treatment or environmental toxin such as antibiotics, vaccinations, lyme disease, mercury exposure etc.

Lyme disease is real but chronic Lyme disease is controversial to say the least. Lyme disease is rarely fatal but delayed treated can result in more severe symptoms and complications in treatment. Given that antibiotics are the first line treatment for Lyme, homeopathy and in particular CEASE therapy with its anti-antibiotic position is not a good idea. It's assumed that McGlynn is making reference to "chronic Lyme disease" and to be blunt it is an area infested with quackery.

McGlynn like a number of other homeopaths mentioned appears on the Thames Valley Homeopaths website. It would appear to be a bubble of CEASE therapy among other things. 

Niki McGlynn RSHom is based in Wokingham, and has a special interest in fertility and pre-conceptual care, autism and children and adults suffering from prolonged side effects of conventional medication, for example post-vaccination.

McGlynn is likely anti-vaccination. Although not touched on previously, the claims that some SoH members make about fertility and pre-conception care are problematic. There is an industry of quackery around fertility, pregnancy, child birth, etc and lay homeopaths often place themselves front and forward in that. It is beyond the scope of this post but it is difficult not to read the marketing as claiming credit for things that just happen and/or preying on anxieties.

Homeopathic Treatment of Autism - Evidence #5

That the Society of Homeopaths (SoH) finally managed to meet the Conditions placed by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) on their reaccreditation does suggest suggest that it is worth looking at members websites and so on.

It is worth pointing out that some further analysis has been done on CEASE and the related Homeopathic Detox Therapy (HDT) practitioners. This is worth blogging about in its own right but one thing it did reveal is that the numbers of SoH members potentially offering these bogus therapies is higher than initially thought. There are more than 110 of them. Given that the SoH has roughly 1,100 members - including students - this is a significant proportion of their membership.

Previously mentioned

Whether is too soon to expect members to have begun the process of voluntarily updating their websites depends on your point of view but it is at least a week since the SoH will have informed members via their email newsletter. Of course, members may not read the newsletter and if the history of the SoH is anything to go by, it seems unlikely that the SoH will have taken any steps to draw members attention to it.

This post mentions Usula Kraus-Harper and as it points out, it is likely that she would not be happy about being told to amend her website. It would appear she has not made any attempt to do so. This post mentions Jennifer Hautman and again, there seems to be no attempt to amend claims relating to autism.

Yvonne Stone

Stone is highly problematic. On her About Me web page she talks about training as a nurse after leaving school but -

I quickly realised I was not willing to take orders all day long, so I trained to become a midwife as they were more able to make independent decisions. I soon realised I wanted to be totally in charge of my own workload, so I went to work on the community and then I recognised that I also liked things done the ‘proper way’, so I became a manager.

Which suggests she make not take too kindly being told what claims she can and can not make by the SoH. Not that she makes many on her website for CEASE therapy - from the same webpage -

My most recent training was to become a Certified CEASE therapist. I can help children and adults whose health has deteriorated since having vaccines, anaesthetics, anitbitoics or other medication. 

However, this web page reveals Stone to be an anti-vaccationist. This is not permitted by the SoH. Stone says -

I am a Certified CEASE therapist and I have found that homeopathic medicines and good nutrition can help restore your child's good health. I co-run an Arnica Group in Colliers Wood. We meet once a month to talk about how to help our children grow up healthy and strong.  

Stone also links to the Informed Parent website describing it as "excellent" - it is extremely anti-vaccination even it pretends not to be. It is full of misinformation and scaremongering.

Worse still Stone co-authored with Liz Bevan-Jones the No Nonsense Vaccine Handbook. What exactly is in that book is unknown but this document  suggests it will be full of all sorts of bogus information. The decision to vaccinate is a no-brainer in the vast majority of situations. It contains "advice" such as -

It is unnecessary to vaccinate your baby (while you are still breast-feeding) for any disease you had naturally. Breast milk contains long-chain sugars necessary to develop a healthy immune system. The mother’s antibodies last for 3 months beyond the time she finishes breast-feeding.

The UK vaccination schedule includes vaccinations for some very serious diseases. Breast  milk may not contain significant, if any, levels of antibodies to most of these diseases. But worse -

Use homeopathic nosodes to protect your children from diseases which are epidemic. They are simple to take and enable the immune system to operate as nature intended without toxicity or unpleasant side-effects. See pages on Homeopathic Prophylaxis and Nosodes. Further information on nosodes can be found in the No Nonsense Travel Vaccine Handbook. 

Use of homeoprophylaxis is described in by the SoH as -

Currently there is no homeopathic alternative to vaccination or anti-malarial drugs which has been proven beyond doubt to be clinically effective. It is therefore unethical for a homeopath to advise a patient against the use of conventional vaccines or anti-malarial drugs.

Stone would appear to be in breach of this in spades.

Stone offers Mannatech products. Mannatech is notorious for bogus marketing claims as well being a multi-level marketing scam. The claims made for these products are not compatible with EU regulations and it is questionable whether they are legal in the UK.


Amanda Bate
Bate does not say a great deal about CEASE therapy or autism on her website. Here she talks about tautopathy -

This therapy is helpful if long term use of a drug or vaccination has caused a problem. I would discuss this methodology with you should I think you would benefit from it. It is a different way of using remedies. This method of homeopathy is used for some patients  with Autistic Spectrum Disorder or Aspergers or patients who have suffered side effects from The Pill, steroids, antidepressants and other medications.

Tautopathy is just another word for isopathy that is used in CEASE. Bate is implying very strongly that autism is caused by drugs or vaccination.

ASD and "vaccination side effects" appear in a list of conditions that patients come to see her about. Of course, the SoH seem to be taking the line these days that this is perfectly permissible as long as no claim to treat/cure is made.

Bate is an anti-vaccinationist and very open about it. She is an Arnica group leader. On her website there is a document Vaccination Choices. It is full of hearsay and anecdote - which is very much how groups like Arnica work. There is also this blog post. Bate also has a Facebook page where she is much more active in terms of post compared to the blog on her website. She seems very keen on the Children's Medical Safety Reasearch Institute - which is nothing of the sort. It is extremely anti-vaccination to the point of funding bogus research. It strongly pushes the line that vaccines cause autism but most disturbing of all are the attitudes of some of those that write for it. Bates may be blindly posting things without understanding any of this.

Arunjot Mushiana

Mushiana doesn't make any mention of CEASE on her website except to say that she's had "training". But she does make mention of it elsewhere, eg on her (probably abandoned) blog, on the Thames Valley Homeopaths website and just in passing on a couple of other websites. Her Twitter timeline does make relatively recent mention of homeopathy and autism though as well as recommending the Amy Lansky "Impossible Cure" book. Her entry on the CEASE therapy website is worrying.

Hi, I am a UK registered homeopath, having qualified from The London College of Homeopathy in1995. I have a busy local practice in Slough where I see patients from all over England as well as having international clients from countries including Sri Lanka, India, USA, Canada & Dubai. Although my first language is English I also speak fluent Punjabi. Please take a look at my website and feel free to write to me with your questions or to arrange a 15 min free Skype consultation.

International clients? Unless Mushiana is flying around the world or her clients are flying to her, does this mean she is conducting consultations with autistic children via Skype? This would be problematic to say the least as was discussed in this post in regards to Sian Collister.

Mushiana's website starts that she is an Arnica group in the Windsor and Slough area. It appears that is the co-leader is Sylvia Giunta - another member of the SoH and CEASE practitioner. How active this group this is impossible to tell and this tends to be the case with all local Arnica groups. Some have closed Facebook groups. There is a Yahoo group. Others may communicate by email.

Liz Bevan-Jones

Bevan-Jones' website no longer works and hasn't done for a number of years. However, online mentions of her do say that she has a busy clinic. On the other hand, there are some indications that she may no longer be practicing but it isn't terribly clear. She would still appear to be a member of the SoH.

Bevan-Jones did a seminar with Yvonne Stone in addition to writing a book with. Stone offers appointments at the same location as Bevan-Jones did. Arnica still shows Bevan-Jones as a local organiser for Colliers Wood although no mention is made of Stone.

In addition to CEASE, Bevan-Jones would appeared to be trained in HDT.


Sarah Kaiper-Holmes

Kaiper-Holmes mentions autism on her Rainbow Homeopathy website but no mention of CEASE therapy. However, she mentions her intention (obviously carried out) to study CEASE therapy on her Rainbow Babies website.

Sarah graduated in 2009 from The Centre for Homeopathic Education in London with a BSc(Hons) Homeopathy. 

Whilst studying for this degree, she completed her Masters degree in Autism during which she carried out a small-scale research project looking at using Homeopathy to improve the behavioural aspects of children with Autism.

This seems odd. BSc and MA at the same time? Kaiper-Holmes already had a first degree as well as a Postgraduate Certificate in Education so entry to the Sheffield Hallam part time MA Autism Spectrum course or whatever course came before it would not be an issue. The Centre for Homeopathic Education (CHE) no longer offer a BSc - Middlesex University removed accreditation - but even the full time version would likely few teaching hours.

The current MA Autism Spectrum course doesn't seem to have a research element. It seems unlikely that the "research" was part of her MA. The ethics of conducting medical trials on children are difficult and those on autistic children even more difficult. The likelihood of a university ethics board approving research using a treatment with no plausibility on vulnerable children is extremely low even if the treatment is harmless.

Arguably, the MA should mean that Kaiper-Holmes is competent to work with autistic children and adults but treating them? There is no way that the MA transforms a bogus therapy into a real one.

She spent four years running monthly homeopathy clinics at The Hesley Village & Fullerton House School (part of The Hesley Group) where children and adults have a range of special needs within the autistic spectrum.

The Helsey Group seem very sensible overall and homeopathy seems out of place. But they do not currently seem to offer anything of the kind.

Kaiper-Holmes makes the mistake of claiming that homeopathy can treat a list of conditions -

• Acne, Arthritis, Allergies, Asthma, Autism, ADHD, Anxiety
• Bruises, Bed-wetting, Bites & Stings
• Constipation, Colic, Coughs & Colds, Childbirth, Cystitis, Chicken pox
• Depression, Drug withdrawal, Diarrhoea
• Eczema, Ear infections
• Fertility issues, ‘Flu, Fever, Fatigue
• Gynaecological problems, Gout, Grief, Gastric problems
• Hayfever, Headaches, Heartburn
• IBS, Insomnia
• Labour, Lethargy
• Menopause, Menstrual problems, Migraines, Measles, Mumps
• Pregnancy, PMS, Panic attacks
• Respiratory complaints, Rashes
• Sports injuries, Shock, Sunburn/sunstroke, Stress, Sore throats
• Tantrums, Teething, Tonsillitis
• Vomiting, Verrucae & Warts

This is not permitted by the SoH.

The Rainbow Babies website reveals that she is a local Arnica group leader. The group seems active in that it meets monthly on a social basis. Given Kaiper-Holmes' business interests, this likely gives her access to a ready market for her services. The role of this kind of social network, mouth of mouth recommendations, and so forth can not be underestimated. It may explain why some SoH members do not advertise online, especially if the are part time.

Again, it is impossible to know if Kaiper-Holmes actively offers CEASE therapy within these groups but they are likely to be receptive.

Silvia Giunta
Giunta does make mention of CEASE therapy and autism on this page. She links to the CEASE therapy website. She also states -

Silvia Giunta is a Homeopath & Neurodevelopment practitioner working with : Dyslexia, ADD, Neurodevelopmental Delay, Hypermobility

"Neurodevelopment practitioner"? Neurodevelopmental practitioner is a term used to describe some highly specialist paediatricians (especially those involved with the diagnosis of autism) but Giunta is not one of those. Neurodevelopmental delay is an odd term - generally the term neurodevelopmental disorder is used - and is often a euphasism for autism.

Giunta also mentions CEASE on the Thames Valley Homeopaths website which does seem to be a nest of CEASE practitioners. Giunta is also qualified in HDT. Giunta would also appear to be a Brain Buzz practitioner as well as offering Sensory Activation Solutions therapy. To top it all, she uses the bogus Asyra machine (which is very similar to the ZYTO machine). What the SoH will make of such machines is unknown, given the illegality of the claims made for them. 

It's worth pointing out that Giunta charges a lot for consultations - even relatively short Skype ones. Giunta also seems to be involved with a purveyor of bizarre diets and valueless tests.

Sophie Knock
Knock has a page on CEASE. It does not make for good reading. Nor does the Asyra nonense or the involvement with Arnica. It's a full on claim for the bogus "benefits" of CEASE with multiple links to the CEASE therapy website,. The kind of thing that the SoH are supposedly concerned about.

CEASE Therapy stands for Complete Elimination of Autistic Spectrum Expression . Step by step all causative factors (vaccines, regular medication, toxic exposures, etc.) are detoxified with the homeopathic diluted and potentized substances that caused the autism.

Perhaps Knock did not get the email? Knock also links to various articles about the bogus trial in Cuba that involved homeoprophylaxis against leptospirosis. Some of the links don't work and those that do - well, the articles are as poor as you might imagine. But this one is interesting in terms of the comments and who turns up there. Gina Tyler for example - a US homeopath who is deeply anti-vaccination. 

NHS Homeopathy #6 - British Homeopathic Association lose Judicial Review

The British Homeopathic Association's (BHA) application for judicial review of NHS England's (NHSE) consultation Items which should not be routinely prescribed in primary care: A Consultation on guidance for CCGs (Consultation)  and subsequent guidance was discussed here at great length.

The application was accepted. The hearing took place between 01/05/2018 and 04/05/2018. The ruling of Justice Supperstone was published on 05/06/2018.

Supperstone ruled against the BHA.

Preliminary detail
The ruling reveals the BHA made application for judicial review on 20/10/2017 and that the rolled up hearing was ordered by "Yip J" on 20/12/2017. It must be stressed that granting of a rolled up hearing - where the application for judicial review and the review itself are (potentially) heard together - is unusual and potentially wasteful.

As part of the judicial review process, both sides will have made written submissions to the Court - which they also would have to share with each other. These submission can be obtained by Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) requests but it is unlikely that they would add much. However, the ruling does contains some hints of the what was in them. Interested third parties could, in theory, also have made submissions at this point. It is unknown whether this is the case. Two interested third parties - the Patients and Friends of Anthroposophic Medicine and the Friends of the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine - are mentioned but did not actively take part in the hearing.

The BHA amended their application on 22/01/2018. They also effectively made another amendment on 16/04/2018.

Legislative and Factual Background
The ruling contains information on the relevant legislation but it is very dry reading. There is also a section that details the process of the Consultation. There is nothing particularly remarkable about this if one is familiar with how public consultations work.

Grounds for Judicial Review
The BHA started off with nine grounds but (likely on legal advice) these were reduced to four, which are -

1. NHSE failed to consult fairly by failing to provide consultees with sufficient information to enable them to give a meaningful response to the consultation and failing fairly to summarise the homeopathy issues the consultation was considering and/or NHSE misled consultees and/or failed to consult on alternatives
2. NHSE failed to consult at a time when proposals were still at a formative stage and/or there was a substantial risk that it had pre-determined its decision to withdraw support for homeopathy
3. NHSE has breached the public sector equality duty contrary to s.149 of the 2010 Act
4. NHSE has no power to issue the Guidance under s.14Z10 of the 2006 Act

Point 4 was added very late in the day. Point 1 is the crux of the BHA's argument and merits further discussion. There are several elements to it -

1. NHSE has failed to give sufficient reasons for its proposal to permit of intelligent consideration and response
2. NHSE failed fairly to summarise the homeopathy issue the consultation was considering
3. Having placed reliance upon the 2010 Report of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee ("the 2010 report") NHSE failed to place the report properly in context
4. NHSE misled consultees and/or failed to consult on possible alternatives to its proposal

The ruling then goes onto discuss several important cases revolve around fairness.

Something interesting to note is that the BHA did want to an "expert" witness statement from Dr Peter Fisher to be considered as part of their submission, yet this was withdrawn during the hearing.

Submissions and discussion
Typically, in a judicial review hearing, the complainant's barrister talks through their client's submission, then the defendant's barrister will talk through their's and finally the complainant's barrister will speak again. Remember, that both parties will have seen the other's submission. No cross examination will take place.

The ruling is not a transcript (transcripts tend to make for very dull reading). What is does do is examine the points in the BHA's submission, NHSE's response to them and discusses them before making a specific judgment about the point.

Perhaps the BHA's position on Point 1. fairness is best summarised by -

1. Summarising the Claimant's case on day one of the hearing, at the outset of his oral submissions, Mr Clayton described it as a fairness challenge to the consultation based on the view in the consultation document that homeopathy is not clinically effective. He said that the consultation process was unfair because it misrepresented the true position; there is, he contended, plain evidence that homeopathy treatment does work in particular cases; and what the case boils down to is a debate about scientific method.

Richard Clayton was the barrister representing the BHA. Much was made of the NHSE's "reliance" on the 2010 Report of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee (Report 2010) and that it somehow misrepresented understanding of homeopathy. That there was a failure to mention the Government response or that there had been an Early Day Motion signed by a number of MPs. Clayton stated that the Report 2010  "was seriously unbalanced and inaccurate and NHS England acted unfairly in failing to provide a fair summary of the complex issues it was consulting upon."

The original consultation document did state that - 

In 2010 a report by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, found that the use of homeopathy was not evidence based and any benefits to patients was down to placebo effect. The group agreed with the findings of the committee for the lack of evidence and considered homeopathy suitable for inclusion in the proposed guidance. 

The opinion that the Report 2010 is "seriously unbalanced and inaccurate" is a minority one and the NHSE consultation document is a fair reflection of the conclusions. The consultation document does not say anything that is out of line with medical and scientific consensus.

Clayton goes on to claim that referring to the Report 2010 is problematic for a whole host of other reasons such as "not intelligible to the ordinary consultee". Clayton also made arguments over the meaning of words and phrases such as "efficacy" and "clinical effectiveness".

Supperstone did not agree.

1. I reject Mr Clayton's submissions on the Gunning (2) criteria, essentially for the reasons advanced by Mr Jonathan Moffett QC, who appears for NHSE. I agree that the information that was provided to consultees was sufficient to enable them to give a meaningful response. Supporters of homeopathy could not have been left in any doubt that they needed to provide NHSE with evidence that homeopathy actually works; and this is exactly what the Claimant sought to do.

Moffett was the barrister for NHSE. And later.

1. It was made clear to consultees that the reason why NHSE was proposing to include homeopathy on the list of items that should not routinely be prescribed by GPs was the lack of robust evidence that it actually works. Consultees therefore knew that, if they opposed the proposal, they should point to evidence that homeopathy actually works, and they were afforded the opportunity to submit such evidence. The fact that the Claimant did exactly this indicates that certainly it had sufficient information to provide an informed response.

Particularly telling is -

1. Mr Clayton argues that there is "a legitimate scientific debate" as to whether homeopathy works. However I agree with Mr Moffett that it would not be appropriate for the court to pass judgment on the legitimacy or otherwise of the view that homeopathy works. NHSE accepts that there is a body of opinion, to which some practicing clinicians adhere, that homeopathy works (and that there is evidence to that effect), as the Select Committee report made clear. On the other hand, as Mr Moffett points out, representatives of professional organisations such as the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Royal College of Pharmacists, the British Medical Association and the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges sat on the Working Group and were involved in the development of the guidance. In any event the legitimacy or otherwise of the debate is not relevant to the issues before the court. What NHSE was consulting on was its provisional view that there was no robust evidence that homeopathy actually works.

This has implication for the context and scope of the hearing. Homeopathy is not "on trial".

As for Point 2, that NHSE had already come to a determination, Clayton's arguments revolved partly around a Radio 4 interview given by Simon Stevens, NHSE's chief executive on 31/03/2017 (several months prior to the official launch of the consultation and before any decision as to include homeopathy in it) in which when asked a direct question about homeopathy responded that homeopathy was ineffective and a waste of money. They also revolved around wording in the press release of 21/07/2017 that homeopathy is "at best a placebo and a misuse of scarce NHS funds". Clayton argued that both represented determination and the Stevens' statements represented the corporate opinion of NHSE.

Supperstone stated -

1. I reject this submission. In circumstances where NHSE was putting forward the proposal to consultees on the basis of an assessment of the evidence as to whether homeopathy actually works, I consider that NHSE was entitled to form a view on the state of the evidence before going out to consultation. It does not follow from that that NHSE had closed its mind to any further evidence that might be provided by consultees or that it would not objectively assess that evidence if it were received. The evidence is that NHSE engaged with the Claimant during the consultation exercise (see para 25 above), that the Claimant's written response was given careful consideration and that the SPS was instructed to conduct a specialist review of it (see para 27 above). Ultimately the decision of NHSE was made at a Board meeting and each Board member agreed with the decision. It has not been suggested that Mr Stevens exerted any undue influence over other members of the Board.

Point 3 about Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is quite tortuous to read but some interesting points appear. The basis of Point 3 -

i) The consultation process was exclusively online and, therefore, excluded some people with protected characteristics from answering the online consultation and from attending face to face events because the only way to find out about them or book a place was online.
ii) NHSE failed properly to inform itself and to take the necessary reasonable steps to gather relevant information in relation to specific protected groups.
iii) The EIA at no stage considered the impact of removing the exemption on paying NHS prescriptions on those with protected characteristics, particularly the elderly and those with disabilities.
iv) The consultation did not differentiate between removing single items of medication which treat one or two conditions from the prescribed list and removing the entire range of homeopathic treatments which are used to treat a very significant number of conditions.
v) The EIA failed to identify the increased impact on those with protected characteristics which results from de-prescribing homeopathic treatments, unlike other medications listed in the consultation paper, for which one or more identified alternatives are readily available.

It would appear that one of the BHA's ideas was that NHSE should examine every single prescription to determine whether patients were exempt from prescription charges. This would be impractical for a whole host of reasons as well as being incredible expensive.

Supperstone was more than satisfied that NHSE had fulfilled PSED. This is particularly interesting -

1. Mr Moffett makes the point that the first of these criticisms, that the consultation process was exclusively online, can only be a challenge to the decision as to how the consultation exercise was to be carried out. That decision was taken by the Board at its meeting on 21 July 2017. However, that aspect of the Board's decision was not challenged in the claim filed in October 2017; it was not raised until the amended grounds were filed on 22 January 2018, six months after the relevant decision. The explanation for the delay given by Mr Clayton is that it was not until shortly before the filing of the claim that the Claimant received letters from two individuals which put it on notice as to the problem. However this does not explain why the claim was not amended to include this complaint long before it was. The Burkett principle, on which Mr Clayton relies, does not assist the Claimant in the present case where the decision to consult took effect when the consultation commenced. I would therefore dismiss this ground of challenge on grounds of delay alone.

It would be foolhardy to speculate on why there was such a delay. 

1. As for the other three criticisms made by the Claimant (see para 78(iii)-(v) above) it is clear that the EIA did consider the impact of removing the exemption on paying NHS prescriptions on those with protected characteristics. The analysis proceeded on the basis that the effect of the guidance would be that patients who were previously prescribed homeopathic treatments would instead be prescribed the most effective medications that would achieve the best outcomes. That accords with the Claimant's consultation response which stated that patients who no longer receive homeopathic treatments on prescription will continue to use NHS services and move on to other prescription medications. The Claimant has not identified any further information that should have been obtained in relation to persons with conditions that are specific to particular protected characteristics.


2. I am satisfied that NHSE was rigorous in the discharge of the duty to have "due regard" to relevant matters, and that it was entitled, on the evidence before it, to conclude that the Guidance would not have an adverse impact on the statutory equality objectives, but rather, as the Analysis found, "would [enable] patients to have access to the most effective medications to achieve the best outcomes". That being so, I agree with Mr Moffett, it was not necessary to consider mitigation measures, it being NHSE's view that there would not be any discrimination.

These paragraphs are particularly damning. Whilst the homeopathy is not on trial, the implication is that patients currently receiving homeopathy will benefit by being prescribing the most effective medication and that thus homeopathy is of no effectiveness beyond placebo.

Conclusion

Justice Supperstone's ultimate decision was -

1. I consider that the grounds of challenge advanced at this hearing are arguable, albeit in the case of the vires ground, only just arguable. Permission will be granted on all four grounds. However, for the reasons I have given, none of the grounds of challenge are made out. Accordingly this claim is dismissed.

The language here is confusing. This is because the hearing was rolled up. The first two sentences effectively allow the application. The latter two effectively throw the judicial review out.

Costs
No mention is made of costs but it is possible that the BHA may have to pay NHSE's legal costs as they lost. Whilst the £30k+ the BHA raised via crowdfunding etc may (mostly) cover their own legal costs, it would not cover NHSE's and they can only be guessed at (although FOIA request could obtain them).

It is worth pointing out that the cost to NHSE goes beyond legal costs. Some staff will have been diverted from their normal duties to deal with this. 

Appeal
It is unlikely that the BHA will appeal. Leave for appeal is unlikely to be granted and even if it were, unless they can magic up more compelling arguments an appeal would be extremely unlikely to suceed. There would also be the matter of costs - which would likely be higher than for judicial review. Whether supporters would fund an appeal is moot given the BHA's failure.

Whilst the BHA seem largely indifferent to negative publicity, losing in Court twice is unlikely to endear them even to the staunchest supporters of homeopathy.

Reaction
There has been some media reporting of the BHA's failure. The Independent has a story as do the Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail. There also has been reporting in specialist media. Most of the stories quote Stevens -

There is no robust evidence to support homeopathy which is at best a placebo and a misuse of scarce NHS funds. So we strongly welcome the High Court’s clear-cut decision to kick out this costly and spurious legal challenge.

As previously mentioned, no mention of costs has been made. What is interesting is that some stories still paint the consultation results as a ban when it is clear that only blacklisting would be a ban. 

Social media reaction has been predictable. Critics see it as a victory for common sense and science, supporters of homeopathy are more mixed but some have invoked conspiracy theories as well as protraying the BHA as "brave". Bravery should not be confused with hubris. In relation to other NHSE matters, much has been made of Stevens having worked for UnitedHealth Group - some identify him with the "creeping privatisation of the NHS" but is has not been picked up. But both groups tend to forget that the judicial review concerned itself with whether the Consultation had been conducted correctly, not the validity of homeopathy as a treatment.

The BHA themselves describe themselves as brave in this statement. 

The BHA believed it had identified serious flaws in the way the health commissioning authority consulted the public on this issue and sought a judicial review.

Belief is one thing, the reality of the ruling something completely different. The whole statement is divorced from reality. Margaret Wylie, the chair of the BHA bizarrely stated -

It appears NHS England can fail to engage with patients properly on removing services and get away with it. That is not good enough, for it is important to remember that the real losers in this case are the patients who are now being refused a treatment on which they have come to depend.

There was also a statement on their crowdfunding page which covers much of the same ground.

The Society of Homeopaths contributed money to the BHA appeal that it call ill afford. Their news item has little to add but Mark Taylor as per usual had something to say -

It is hugely disappointing but it was encouraging to see the homeopathic community pull together to make the case. Through 4Homeopathy, we will ensure that the campaign to promote homeopathy and enable patient choice will continue.

The Friends of the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine regurgiate a message from the BHA.

Impact
The ruling can only been seen a humiliating defeat for the BHA and CEO Cristal Sumner. It can also be seen as a defeat for UK homeopathy and its supporters. However, homeopathy is a fringe interest and NHS homeopathy represents a fraction of UK homeopathy. The BHA's defeat is unlikely to be of great interest to the public and only of passing interest to the media.

Critics of homeopathy have never regarded the BHA in a particularly favourable way but they have zero influence on the day-to-day activities of the BHA. They have some marginal influence when it comes to things like public consultations that the BHA become involved with but generally critics are less concerned in those circumstances with the reputation of the BHA and more the arguments they present.

Supporters of homeopathy tend to be uncritical of the actions of trade associations and bodies like the BHA. There is a tendency to support the "cause" even at various costs - including broader reputational damage as long as the key message plays to the core constituency. But in terms of financial support? The BHA are currently largely dependant on bequests and it's unpredictable income at best. They appear to have little in the way of active fundraising outside of that. True, they managed a crowdfunding campaign but on a very specific issue that they mislead supporters on.

What is going to hurt to hurt the most? Unknown, but several things but all will hurt.

From an activist point of view, it would be very easy to undermine the BHA in any future interactions that they might have with public bodies. There are some complicated legal arguments involved but the BHA have been shown to be not credible and unreliable.