Why is Christianity always in the dock?
by Paul Huxley, TCW:
‘CAN you prove that offering to pray for patients causes no harm?’
This was in effect the question put to the highly experienced Christian GP Richard Scott by an NHS England disciplinary panel last year.
In the hearing, Dr Scott had already pointed to evidence that faith-based adjuncts to conventional care are overwhelmingly positive. He cited not only his own book detailing his journey with cancer but also an OUP book called The Handbook of Religion and Health which showed that 81 per cent of religious interventions had a good outcome.
The General Medical Council (GMC) itself had already cleared Dr Scott of alleged wrongdoing.
Nevertheless, the panel doubled down, insisting Dr Scott went on an expensive three-day course on professional boundaries usually undertaken by those who have inappropriately touched a patient or crossed sexual boundaries, and undergo a psychological assessment.
Last week, with our help at the Christian Legal Centre, Dr Scott challenged these impositions. Included in papers was an expert report from Dr Harold Koenig, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine, outlining in astonishing detail how prayer can supplement standard medical interventions.
NHS England backed down. Neither party admitted wrongdoing, but don’t be fooled by the spin of secularists who had instigated this witch-hunt against Dr Scott. The one-day course Dr Scott agreed to attend was one he had already proposed as an olive branch early in the proceedings; he could count it as Continuing Professional Development.
[…] But we must ask ourselves how got here.
NHS England told Dr Richard Scott to prove that his actions weren’t harmful. They gave no evidence to suggest that his practice was harmful, the burden of proof was on him to prove that it wasn’t.
Dr Scott had witnessed a great number of benefits from spiritual interventions in his own life and the lives of patients. He has seen how patients who have struggled with medical conditions for long periods have found significant benefit from a broader, holistic approach, including the offer of prayer. He knew the evidence backed him up.
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