Andrew Ward: Keep Your Story Straight!

Yet another old friend is Andrew Ward, to my knowledge the only homeopath in Wiltshire who can treat "All acute and chronic illnesses".

Andrew is still labouring under the painful burden of his delusions. Not surprisingly, they have already attracted the attention of the sceptics.

(Image credit)

Some parts of his website suggest that he's making a sincere attempt to avoid breaking the law again.

"However what Homeopathy cannot claim to do is cure diseases such as Cancer and Aids. But there are some individuals, with these diseases, who may be helped by enhancing their immune system and organism, to help them with their symptoms. This is usually palliative only."

Alas, Andy has problems keeping his story straight. On the very same page he boasts

"Homeopathy works. In more than twenty years of professional practice I have seen it help people to overcome a variety of acute and chronic diseases..."

Further down the page is another contradictory claim:

"Homeopathy... remains the only alternative medicine incorporated into the NHS. This was achieved by act of parliament in 1952 due to the phenomenal success and reputation homeopathy gained in treating epidemic diseases."

And on the testimonials page, Andrew "All acute and chronic illnesses treated" Ward loses all inhibitions.

"He doesn’t promise a miracle cure and yet on occasions, that is precisely what has appeared to happen. Extreme tiredness, asthma, IBS, dealing with grief, skin infections, broken bones, menstrual problems, eating disorders, coughs and colds have all been treated by Andrew with excellent results."

Yes, folks, according to one satisfied customer, Andrew Ward can treat broken bones with homeopathy.

ASA complaint follows!

"The website makes a number of health claims which I suspect are misleading.

1. ( http://www.homoeopathyuk.org/file/Welcome.html )

"Homeopathy works. In more than twenty years of professional practice I have seen it help people to overcome a variety of acute and chronic diseases. More and more people are experiencing the wonderful effects of Classical Homeopathy in restoring their health, vitality and well-being."

I'd like to challenge whether the claims "Homeopathy works", "I have seen it help people to overcome a variety of acute and chronic diseases" and "More and more people are experiencing the wonderful effects of Classical Homeopathy in restoring their health" are misleading and whether they can be substantiated.

2.

"Try it and it will revolutionize your family’s health."

I challenge whether the claim that homeopathy can "revolutionize [sic] your family's health" can be substantiated.

3.

"It is time to look for an alternative to pharmaceutical drugs which, although can sometimes helpful, are rarely curative and often harmful and toxic to the human organism. Homeopathy offers an effective, safe alternative."

I challenge whether the claim that "pharmaceutical drugs" are "sometimes helpful [but] are rarely curative and often harmful" is misleading, whether it can be substantiated, and whether it might discourage essential treatment.

I challenge whether the claim that "pharmaceutical drugs" are "[often] toxic to the human organism" is misleading, because it takes no account of the facts that most chemicals are toxic at sufficient doses, or that the prescribed dosage of a pharmaceutical can be varied according to a risk-benefit analysis.

I challenge whether the claim that "homeopathy offers an effective... alternative" is misleading and whether it can be substantiated.

4.

"However what Homeopathy cannot claim to do is cure diseases... But there are some individuals... who may be helped by enhancing their immune systems and organism, to help them with their symptoms"

I challenge whether the claim that homeopathy is capable of "enhancing [patients'] immune systems" can be substantiated.

5.

"WE DO NOT CURE DISEASES BUT RATHER HELP INDIVIDUALS, BY ENHANCING THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEM RESPONSES, TO OVERCOME THEIR ILLNESS, IF IT IS POSSIBLE."

I challenge whether the claim that homeopathy is capable of "enhancing [patients'] immune systems" can be substantiated.

6.

"Homeopathy is now the most widely used and trusted alternative system of medicine in the world. Increasingly being accepted into mainstream medicine, it remains the only alternative medicine incorporated into the NHS. This was achieved by act of parliament in 1952 due to the phenomenal success and reputation homeopathy gained in treating epidemic diseases."

I challenge whether the claim that "Homeopathy is now the most widely used [sic] and trusted alternative system of medicine in the world" can be substantiated, given that Traditional Chinese Medicine [TCM] is in widespread use in China, whereas homeopathy is in widespread use mainly in India.

I challenge whether the claim that homeopathy is "Increasingly being accepted into mainstream medicine" is misleading, given that all available clinical meta-reviews show no evidence of efficacy, and given that homeopathy hospitals and clinics in the UK have been closing in recent years, not expanding.

I challenge whether the claim that homeopathy had "phenomenal success... in treating epidemic diseases" is misleading and can be substantiated.

7. ( http://www.homoeopathyuk.org/file/Testimonials.html )

"Andrew has been treating my family for over 15 years and during that time he has successfully helped with chronic conditions"

I challenge whether this testimonial claim of efficacy for homeopathy is misleading.

8.

"He doesn’t promise a miracle cure and yet on occasions, that is precisely what has appeared to happen. Extreme tiredness, asthma, IBS, dealing with grief, skin infections, broken bones, menstrual problems, eating disorders, coughs and colds have all been treated by Andrew with excellent results."

I challenge whether these testimonial claims of efficacy for homeopathy are misleading.

9.

"Andrew has given us the confidence to use his homeopathic treatments instead of antibiotics and steroids. Impetigo, chest infections, hay fever and asthma have all been treated successfully."

I challenge whether these testimonial claims of efficacy for homeopathy are misleading, and I challenge whether the claim that homeopathy is better than antibiotics is likely to discourage essential treatment.

I've made some screenshots of the relevant pages, which are available at:
http://leicester.skepticsinthepub.org/FishBarrel/ci.aspx?id=pXqChneF1c
http://leicester.skepticsinthepub.org/FishBarrel/ci.aspx?id=pXqChneF1c
http://leicester.skepticsinthepub.org/FishBarrel/ci.aspx?id=9MEbgDlpIT

I can confirm that I have no connections with the advertiser."