Introduction
The Society of Homeopaths is a not for profit professional membership organisation, voluntary register and regulator of homeopaths. It sets and maintains standards in the public interest..
The Society is governed by a member-elected Board of Directors, who are all practising homeopaths, led by the Chair of the Board. The Board has two independent non-voting advisors.
The Board is responsible for the overall strategy and governance of The Society, delegating the day-to-day operation of the organisation to the staff team.
Our vision
To see homeopathy accepted and established within modern healthcare.
Our aims
The Society aims to ensure that people who have homeopathic treatment receive the highest level of care from registered homeopaths, who practise ethically, and to promote the benefits of homeopathy to the public.
To achieve this, the Society
- sets and develops the highest standards and values for education, registration and ethical practice
- develops a first class marketing strategy for homeopathy and, where appropriate, does this in conjunction with other like minded organisations
- keeps the public informed about homeopathy and the evidence for the effectiveness of homeopathy
- supports its members with a range of membership services
Our values
The Society aims to be a healthy and sustainable organisation. We continually review and improve our standards and processes in the best interests of the public and our members.
In all our processes and decision-making we are committed to being
- inclusive
- transparent
- accountable
- responsive
- fair
Our overall strategic objectives
Maintaining and developing standards
Increasing the take up of homeopathy by the public
Keeping the public informed about homeopathy and the evidence for the effectiveness for homeopathy
Promoting the Society
Collaborating with other organisations
Meeting the challenges
Supporting, listening to and communicating with members
Ensuring the Society’s financial stability
1 year objectives: 2012
1. Promoting homeopathy and the RSHom brand
We will do this by
- promoting the homeopathy delivered by the RSHom brand
- promoting the Society to potential members
- promoting the RSHom brand to the public, other health professionals and official bodies
- placing articles promoting our members and homeopathy in the media
- developing ways of homeopaths to encourage patients to follow the Society on Twitter, Facebook and other social media
- developing the website to promote homeopathy and the RSHom brand
- increasing our own marketing capability and resources
2. Supporting, listening to and communicating with members
We will do this by
- holding local membership meetings, collating feedback from the meetings and using it to inform future planning
- keeping members regularly informed about Society activity by e-bulletin
- developing and maintaining a Society profile on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks
- maintaining and developing our range of membership support services
- facilitating greater involvement by members in Society activity, e.g. through sub-committees and working groups
3. Collaborating with other organisations to promote homeopathy
We will do this by
- collaborating with other homeopathy organisations to protect patients’ right to choose homeopathy
- working with other homeopathy organisations to support new initiatives to promote homeopathy
- continuing to collaborate with other organisations to increase the take-up of homeopathy by the public
- keeping in regular touch with other healthcare registers and organisations and developing collaborative relationships where appropriate
4. Meeting the challenges
We will do this by
- working with the Faculty of Homeopathy and other organisations to support our members’ right to advertise their practices honestly and fairly
- responding selectively to unfair reporting on homeopathy to communicate the existing evidence for the effectiveness of homeopathy
- ensuring that members are kept up-to-date with the latest research in homeopathy
- safeguarding the availability of remedies
5. Maintaining and developing standards
We will do this by maintaining
- the Society’s course recognition process
- the Society’s registration process
- the Society’s Professional Conduct procedures
- our CPD support for members and piloting a system for implementing a CPD requirement
- working with the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE – soon to be the Professional Standards Authority, PSA) on their proposals for accreditation of voluntary registers
6. Ensuring the Society’s financial stability
We will do this by
- monitoring the Society is getting the best interest rates for ethical investments
- monitoring spending against the agreed budget for the year
- setting membership fees to meet the Society’s agreed commitments
7. Reviewing our policies and processes
We will do this by
- defining policy and setting review dates for all policy
- considering revisions to the Memorandum and Articles of Association
2013 – 2015
Maintaining and developing standards
Growing the market for homeopathy in the UK
Keeping the public informed about homeopathy and the evidence for the effectiveness for homeopathy
Promoting the RSHom brand
Collaborating with other organisations
Meeting the challenges
Supporting, listening to and communicating with members
Ensuring the Society’s financial stability
Maintaining and developing standards
The Society will monitor and explore developments in healthcare regulation, the regulation of homeopathic medicines and changes in healthcare delivery in both the public and private sector. The Society will consult with members on any proposals the board considers will benefit protection of the public and the standing of homeopathy.
We will do this by
- maintaining contact with relevant organisations, including the government
- responding to relevant consultations
- discussing the establishment of a CAM forum with Group One therapies
- reviewing and revising the Society’s professional standards as appropriate, in relation to external developments regarding regulation
- maintaining the Society’s course recognition process, registration process, Professional Conduct procedures and any CPD requirement which may have been introduced
Promoting the Society
We will do this by
- developing the profile of the Society, building contacts across other health professions, with official bodies, health insurers etc
- promoting the Society as the leading organisation regulating and representing professional homeopaths, to the general public, students and practitioners
- promoting the RSHom brand to the public, other health professionals and official bodies
- placing articles promoting our members and homeopathy in the media
Keeping the public informed about homeopathy and the evidence for the effectiveness for homeopathy
We will do this by
- maintaining a continuing focus on research, to provide reliable information for practitioners and to support evidence-based PR
Collaborating with other organisations
We will do this by
- setting aside funding for joint projects
- participating in cross organisational meetings
Meeting the challenges
We will do this by
- appropriate PR and legal support where necessary
- budgeting to employ staff, training existing staff with the skills to respond
- having a number of well trained media spokespersons to call upon (could be in collaboration with other organisations)
Membership support
The Society will continue to support local / regional members’ groups and continue to support and develop services for members to position the Society as the leading provider of business support for members.
The Society will encourage members and potential members to participate in The Society’s various activities.
We will do this by
- working with other organisations to offer additional benefits to members
- increasing practice support information for members
- investigating the potential of using widely available technology (e.g. teleseminars and or webinars) to create more opportunities for members to engage in CPD