Missing in the post?

Most members filed their annual registration in good time this year with around 75% making it before the end of March, which is really good going and much appreciated. However, there seems to have been an unsettling number of members calling to say that they have not yet received the registration reminder letter or that they have sent in the form and fees and have heard nothing back from the secretary. Often in the latter case, on checking, a reply has been sent – sometimes weeks before.

I can only imaging that the postal system is in more disarray than one would expect and a higher percentage of mail than usual is not finding its target. If you have sent in your yearly registration and have yet to heare back from the society please report this to the secretary.

Yet another scam

A few members have reported another scam that is doing the rounds. You might remember in the last newsletter we mentioned the ‘Data Protection Scam’, well the new one is the ‘Health & Safety’ scam.

Here one receives an official looking letter Health and Safety, subtitled Registration Enforcement Division – COMPLIANCE UNDER THE HEALTH & SAFETY ACT 1974. In the text it begins, ‘Our records show that you are not registered as being compliant with the Health & Safety Act and subsequent legislation.’

Also included is a form for you to fill in and an address to send your cheque to. Amounts seem to vary from £120.00 to £250. Suffice it so say that members need not acknowledge these letters and I understand that they are being investigated by the police force in the region that they originate.

Many thanks to the members who have reported this matter to the secretary as it’s important to be aware of this kind of deception – especially as one day a genuine letter may arrive that we are all tempted to ignore!

Disability Rights Commission

The deadline for the implementation of many assessments of the DRC is October this year. It will affect almost everyone in business to some extent, though hopefully not too seriously. It may just mean providing alternative literature or signs in a form that can be read by the sight impaired, for example, although some premises may require building work to access points etc.

Information can be read from their web site at: http://www.drc.org.uk and booklets can also be ordered from there.

There is also a telephone helpline at 08457 622 633.

Usually these falsehoods are brought to light after enquiries by a member of the public into the validity of a therapist’s qualifications (an activity much on the increase). However, it could well be that there are many more people who are utilizing the excellent reputation of the BSCH in a fraudulent way. It is necessary that all members of the society remain vigilant to this possibility and check with the secretary or on the web database to ensure that anyone advertising with the BSCH letters after their name is a bona fide member of the society.

Lamentably, it is usually those with little or no training and even fewer scruples who stoop to this practice and we must work together to reduce it to a minimum.

Caution with Advertising Claims
Member Jane Austin writes:

“I thought this might be something you would like to pass on to other members who may not be aware of it. I was made aware of it on a course I recently attended.”

“If you are not an NHS therapist then you must make this clear by putting for instance ‘Non NHS Provider No.’, or ‘NHS National Independent Provider Code’. By putting the NHS Provider No. it could be seen to be inferring that you are part of the NHS but it could also possibly cause unnecessary explaining when trying to get referrals from doctors who may already need a bit of pushing to embrace the use of hypnotherapy.”

This is a very good point and one that needs refreshing from time to time. The fact is that NHS provider codes should not be mentioned in any form of advertising. These codes are merely an organisational device and not a qualification or acknowledgement of skill by the National Health Service. At

its best, mentioning the provider code in marketing materials can be seen as clumsy ‘name dropping’ but, at its worst, it could be viewed as an intentional deception.

Even though other so-called ethical hypnotherapy organisations endorse the practice please avoid quoting NHS provision in advertising.

Our Man in Parliament

Still on the subject of the NHS - Bill Doult (who has his ear to the ground in Westminster) writes:

“New moves to regulate complementary medicine were unveiled by the government today. Acupuncture and herbal medicine are being lined up to be brought under statutory control.

But other areas of the booming complementary health market are also being considered for stricter controls.

The moves follow recommendations by the House of Lords select committee on science and technology which spent 15 months investigating a range of complementary and alternative therapies (CAMs) and called for a tightening up of the present arrangements. (cont.)

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