Welcome to the first news update of the year, and indeed the decade! I wish you all a very happy New Year.
As January is traditionally a time for making resolutions and setting goals for the coming year, I would encourage you to ‘Stand Up for Standards’ as you consider your marketing goals for 2020. Spreading the word to your colleagues about the importance of registering with CNHC – to show the public that you uphold high standards of practice in your work – will help complementary therapies to gain further recognition and acceptance both by the public and mainstream healthcare professionals. Hopefully, this will lead to more people experiencing the benefits to health and wellbeing that such therapies can provide.
A good way to spread the word is to become a CNHC Local Champion and raise awareness of CNHC within your own community. One of our aims for the year is to further grow our network of local champions and it would be great if you could take part and help make this happen. You can find out more on our website.
Our latest blog post is from a CNHC Local Champion, Ann Singleton, who is passionate about the idea of integrated healthcare being available to all and is involved in providing Reiki therapy within a NHS setting.
Continuing the integrative healthcare theme, and following on from our report in our December newsupdate of attending an NHS England event on Personal Health Budgets (PHBs), we have put together a more detailed briefing on the current availability of PHBs and how they could be used to fund complementary therapies.
At the October meeting of CNHC’s Board, there were preliminary discussions around the potential impact of withdrawal from the European Union on CNHC registrants and their complementary therapy businesses. While there is still uncertainty surrounding what the impacts will be, we have included a brief summary of potentially relevant issues below
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Finally, I will take this opportunity to say farewell to a valued member of CNHC staff, Carolyn Watson, who led on marketing and communications. I would like to thank Carolyn for her dedication and hard work over the last two years. Her role has been taken over by our new Communications Manager, Sharon Robinson, and I’m sure you’ll join me in welcoming Sharon to CNHC.
Michael Watson, CNHC Chair
OUR LATEST BLOG: INTEGRATING REIKI THERAPY WITHIN A NHS SETTING
“Together with one of my students, we provided the tasters in one of the busiest places in the hospital, Let me tell you – we were very much in demand, but it felt wonderful to be there and share Reiki to as many people as we could. Seeing a whole range of the workforce, including nurses, doctors, administrative staff and porters, being interested and looking at what we were doing was an absolute joy.” [Ann Singleton, CNHC Local Champion}
In out December blog post one of our CNHC Local Champions, Ann Singleton, shares her experience of working in the NHS, how this led to her career as a Reiki practitioner and her commitment to the idea of integrated healthcare available for all.
Briefing: Personal Health Budgets in England
We have put together a briefing on the availability of Personal Health Budgets (PBHs).
A personal health budget is an amount of money used to support a person’s identified health and wellbeing needs. Personal Health Budgets are part of the NHS England Long Term Plan to deliver Universal Personalised Care to patients, giving them greater choice and control in managing their own care and can be used for a range of services, including complementary therapies.
In December 2019, NHS England extended eligibility for PHBs to wheelchair users and people who qualify for after-care services under 117 of the Mental Health Act.
CNHC TO ATTEND KING’S FUND EVENT ON INTEGRATED CARE
On Tuesday 4 February CNHC will be exhibiting at the Integrated Care for People with Multiple Long-term Conditions event at The King’s Fund in London. If you are attending, please do pop by our stand and say hello. We’d love to meet you.
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EUROPEAN CONGRESS FOR INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE (ECIM) COMMITTEE: CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
With the shift towards a more integrative approach to healthcare gaining momentum, the ECIM Committee is calling on all those working in Integrative Medicine to connect with fellow colleagues and share their evidence-led research and case studies.
ECIM 2020 takes place this year at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre. in London on 11 -13 September. It will feature a wide range of exciting presentations, discussions and networking opportunities with healthcare practitioners, academics, researchers and experts in the field of integrative medicine.
The deadline is 23 March 2020.
WHAT DOES BREXIT MEAN FOR COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH PRACTITIONERS IN THE UK?
With the Conservatives winning a majority in the December 2019 General Election, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be taking forward his plans for Brexit. While none of us can be sure about the changes that will result from the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, CNHC has identified some potentially relevant issues. These are set out below, together with the best information we have been able to gain to date.
Availability of nutraceuticals for clients of nutritional therapists: The Health Food Manufacturers’ Association (HFMA) say they are not hearing any issues about the supply chain that might lead them to anticipate problems. They know that their members have been taking steps to minimise any impact of Brexit.
A major supplier of vitamins, minerals and probiotics takes the view that there might be some complexity over the supply chain, perhaps with increased costs and paperwork, but they don’t anticipate any major disruption.
Changes to classification codes for the disposal of healthcare related waste (for example, gloves or sharps): As the European Waste Classification Codes (EWC) are already part of UK law via the List of Wastes (England) Regulations 2005, it is unlikely that there will be any impact in the short-term.
Availability of needles for microsystems acupuncture: UK-based suppliers have confirmed to registrants that there should be no disruption to the supply of needles.
Qualifications: The UK National Recognition Information Centre (UK NARIC) provides certificates of equivalence for relevant qualifications obtained outside the UK. UK NARIC has confirmed that their role in providing advice and guidance on the recognition of academic, vocational and professional qualifications will not change.
Complementary health practitioners from the EU living in the UK: EU citizens and their families can apply by 30 June 2021 to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK after that date. In the case of a “no deal Brexit” those living in the UK before it leaves the EU must apply by 31 December 2020.
DATA PROTECTION HUB FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES (SMES)
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has set up a SME data protection web hub which contains useful information on data protection for sole traders and small to medium organisations.
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