Complementary medicine courses row

A row has broken out over the rise in universities offering courses in complementary medicine.

Scientists said they were "appalled" at the trend, which has been matched by more students applying to take the courses.

The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) reported that there was a 31.5% increase in the number of students seeking to study for degrees in complementary medicine this year.

David Colquhoun, professor of pharmacology at University College London, told the paper he was "appalled". "These courses are basically anti-science," he said. "Universities that run them should be ashamed."

His concern at the increase was echoed by Edzard Ernst, himself a professor of complementary medicine.

Prof Ernst said he was "cross" with UK universities for offering the courses because many of these degrees were "scandalously unacademic".

It was important for researchers to build up evidence of what works in complementary medicine and what does not work before offering degree courses, he said.

Universities which run the courses defended their action.

Celia Bell, from Middlesex University, told the THES the critics were "out of step with the times".

"There are now millions of people seeking complementary medicine treatments, and we have to ensure that the practitioners are safe and properly trained," she said.

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