Welcome to CMIR

Dear Colleagues,

Since the publication of the Department of Health Steering Group Report to Ministers in May 2008 on the Statutory Regulation of Practitioners of Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Other Traditional Medicine Systems Practised in the UK, and the subsequent joint consultation launched on 3rd August 2009 by the Department of Health on Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, the process of developing statutory regulations for practitioners of Chinese medicine has reached a state of stagnation. I fear that no clear decision from the Government will be given before the UK General Election 2010, unless the Department of Health makes up their mind before the election. Combined with the looming enforcement of the 2004 EU Directive on the licensing of traditional herbal medicine in April 2011, Chinese medicine, acupuncture and herbal medicine as a profession is at a historical turning point in its legalisation in the EU.

The Chinese Medical Institute & Register (CMIR) – which is an important part of the Chinese Medicine Council – will be joining forces with other organisations in a campaign calling for a positive outcome in the legislative process for Chinese medicine and acupuncture. Indeed, the policy of the CMIR is to collaborate with all organisations who are genuinely promoting integration between Chinese medicine and Western medicine.

The CMIR is a member of the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies in which I am currently serving as Vice Chairman. I also serve as the Vice President of the China Educational Instruction Committee for Chinese Medicine (Beijing), and the Vice President of Chinese Medicine Speciality Committee (Beijing), which will help our cause.

I am about to go to China with two British experts to rally support from Chinese organisations for our works in Europe and UK. We are now also speaking to the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies and other various committees and organisations to consolidate and coordinate our actions.

There are several areas in which we have to work in relation to practitioners' education, qualifications and legislation for the practice of Chinese medicine and acupuncture. We need to further develop a better standard of education for Chinese medicine and acupuncture in the UK and Europe. We need to liaise with the mainstream educational institutions - especially medical schools - to further integrate Chinese medicine and acupuncture education into the medical and healthcare education in different countries. That would continue the work of CMIR who for the past 16 years has been concentrating on educating the medical professionals as well as healthcare professionals in the integration of Chinese medicine and acupuncture into their own practice. In this project, the CMIR has been very successful and is in fact internationally recognised as the outstanding example of postgraduate education for qualified doctors and practitioners in the medical and healthcare fields.

Furthermore, in the past few years we have been training medical students from King's, Guy's, St Thomas's, St George's and now we are also giving some modular sessions for the University College London students.

For your interest the CMIR is now offering an innovative MSc and PhD programmes in collaboration with the Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine for those who are interested in furthering their degree education in pursuit of clinical excellence and theoretical research within the unrivalled facilities provided by the clinical tuition of the AcuMedic Centre (UK) and the teaching hospitals and faculties in a major Chinese university.

The forthcoming China Medical Trip is also an excellent opportunity for practitioners to update their clinical skills in the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine teaching hospital. This will also provide the opportunity to visit the Shanghai World Expo as well as to experience Chinese culture.

In order to further Chinese medicine and acupuncture education in the UK and Europe, the standards of practising Chinese medicine physicians and acupuncturists have to be raised. Further specialised courses and CPDs should be organised for continued education and training for those who are now in practise. This is what the Chinese Medicine Council should work towards when approving and standardising this type of education. In addition, the CMC must also be working on coordinating different associations and organising institutes to follow the guidelines.

The China-UK Consortium and other organisations must take the initiative in coordinating projects in Chinese medicine and acupuncture because research studies and trials in integrative medicine are very important for validating Chinese medicine and acupuncture in the UK and Europe. All CMIR members should be aware that the organisation will need contributions in these various areas from the membership who should get in touch with the Steering Committee of the CMIR and the Administrative Office in order to work together.

Another important aspect of our work concerns the media reports on Chinese medicine and acupuncture. We have to take very seriously the recent report on the alleged causal link between acupuncture and infection.

The publicity given by the BBC report on the Hong Kong University's warnings of infections transmitted by acupuncture needles, and the similar reactions from the UK spokespersons, is overstated since the invention and production of the first disposable acupuncture needle by AcuMedic in 1978 rendered the problem of cross-infection into a negligible precaution.

I think that the media exaggerations of such incidents can produce damaging results for the acupuncture profession. Of course, we should air our opinion on this and similarly negative reports wherever possible. The members should also publicise the view of CMIR in their local area.

We therefore look forward to your positive energy in furthering the works of the CMIR in achieving clinical excellence for the benefit of our patients.

Yours Sincerely,

Professor Man Fong Mei 梅万方教授
Chairman, Chinese Medical Institute and Register (CMIR)
Chairman, Chinese Medicine Council (CMC,UK)
Chairman, China-UK Consortium for Medical Integration, Research and Collaboration (CUC)
Vice Chairman, World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies (WFCMS)