ChiroACCESS Article



Australia Efforts to Force the Closure of the RMIT Chiropractic Children’s Clinic



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ChiroACCESS Editorial Staff

  

ChiroACCESS



Published on

March 30, 2011

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There is a concerted effort by advocates and medical “experts” to close Melbourne’s RMIT University children’s clinic.  The issue was originally brought to the Australian Ministry of health by a Queensland resident, Loretta Marron, who is said to be “a long-standing campaigner for rational and evidence-based healthcare and regulation.”  Referring to RMIT, Ms. Marron is quoted as saying that she was "ashamed that our universities, once deemed to be pillars of excellence and enlightenment, are letting the bean-counters who run them sell off their reputations for considerable profit by actively embracing subjects no better than witchcraft and voodoo".  Multiple medical “experts” have joined the campaign.  A professor from the University College London is quoted as stating that “principles of chiropractic are no better than witchcraft" and that the notion that “just about any disease originates from some problem in the spine is pure rubbish”.  Another prolific anti-chiropractic writer, Edzard Ernst M.D., joined Ms Marron.  Ernst last year published an article titled “Death by Chiropractic” which was highly biased in its criticism of chiropractic.  He is noted for biased editorials and reviews related to virtually all alternative medical interventions.  Ernst is also noted for overstating the negative, understating the positive, and at the same time turning a blind eye to the unnecessary mortality and morbidity as a result of medical care.  Ernst also urged the closure of chiropractic paediatric teaching clinics.  He wrote to the Australian health minister stating that “Chiropractic is based on outdated assumptions, and the evidence fails to suggest that it works for non-spinal conditions and paediatric illness”.

Charlie Xue, head of RMIT's School of Health Sciences, said the university "vigorously rejects allegations that its chiropractic training activities aim to maximise revenue".  Without question the chiropractic profession needs to conduct more research to support claims of efficacy for the care of children.

The issue is being spread across Australia on many blogs and forums.

It was also posted on Ethics and Health Law News.

Earlier posts related to chiropractic care of infants can be found here.

More from the British Medical Journal can be found here.

Details from “The Australian” can be found here.
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