The activities of the Dutch Quack watch society (VTdK)

The activities of the Dutch Quack watch society (VTdK). They consider themselves to be the new inquisition (and are even proud to be so!)

“[Dutch parliament legitimizes harmful quackery]” [in Dutch] (with FS van Dam), Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde, 2010; 154:A1814. [abstract in English]

• “In the interest of all who value their purse and their health: a brief history of the ‘Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij’—Society Against Quackery—of the Netherlands,” Evaluation & The Health Professions, 2009 Dec; 32(4):431-450. [abstract]

• “A Dutch view of the science of CAM, 1986–2003,” Evaluation & The Health Professions, 2009 Dec; 32(4):431-50. [abstract] [DOI]

Tedje van Asseldonk wrote abut the VTdK on their 125th anniversary. Her essay was sent to several Dutch ‘’quality’’ journals but nobody published it, only a small anthroposophical magazine. It is now listed on several patients web sites, for example

http://kanker-actueel.nl/jubileumcongres-antikwakpolitie-een-column-van-drs-agm-van-asseldonk-bioloog-zelfstandig-gevestigd-docentonderzoeker-nav-het-aanstaande-125-jarig-jubileum-van-de-vereniging-tegen-kwakzalverij.html

 

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A//kanker-actueel.nl/jubileumcongres-antikwakpolitie-een-column-van-drs-agm-van-asseldonk-bioloog-zelfstandig-gevestigd-docentonderzoeker-nav-het-aanstaande-125-jarig-jubileum-van-de-vereniging-tegen-kwakzalverij.html&sl=auto&tl=en&history_state0=

 

The longlasting chairman of the VTdK retired last year. Cees Renckens was a gynaecologist. In his clinic in Hoorn a few years ago babies died. The Health Care Inspectorate (IGZ) wrote a report about it, confirming this. The reason was the arrogance of the gynaecologists that refused to cooperate with the midwifes working for the same clinic!

http://www.igz.nl/actueel/nieuws/igztuchtzakentegengynaecoloogenverloskundigewestfriesgasthuis.aspx 

http://www.sin-nl.org/index/babys_in_hoorn

 

 http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.sin-nl.org/pdfs/rapport_cie_visser_inz._overlijden_baby_ramgoelam.pdf&usg=ALkJrhjr549B0m3Yf3wFWwEop92lNahalw

 

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A//kanker-actueel.nl/cees-renckens-voorzitter-vereniging-tegen-de-kwakzalverij-en-gynaecoloog-in-westfriesgasthuis-in-hoorn-is-mede-onder-toezicht-gesteld-wegens-dood-babies-en-verzwijgen-van-medische-missers-miscommunicatie-die-vooraf-gingen-aan-het-overlijden-van-de-ba.html&sl=auto&tl=en&history_state0=

 

Renckens and his successor a female anesthesiologist always claimed pelvis weakness, PMS and several other illnesses are only imaginary women diseases (hysterical - remove the womb and they will be better off). 

 

(Hippocratic Hysteria: the Womb and Its Destinations

http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft0p3003d3&chunk.id=d0e1173&toc.id=d0e760&brand=ucpress)

 

Now they are fighting a war against the new practice of midwives that inject women in labor with sterile salt solution as this appeared to give pain relief. See  http://www.kwakzalverij.nl/1559/Steriele_waterinjecties_in_de_verloskunde_nieuw_

 

http://www.scienceinmedicine.org/fellows/Renckens.html

• “Hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy for severe premenstrual syndrome” [letter to editor], Human Reproduction, 2005 Apr; 20(4):1113-1114. [DOI]
• “Pain relief using electro-acupuncture for oocyte retrieval,” Human Reproduction, 2004 Dec; 19(12):2965-2966.
• “Some complementary and alternative therapies are too implausible to be investigated” (with E Ernst), Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 2003 Sep; 8(3):307-308.
• “The sharp end of medical practice: the use of acupuncture in obstetrics and gynæcology” [letter to editor], British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynæcology, 2002 Dec; 109(12):1418-1419.
• “A comparison between alternative pseudodiagnoses and regularly accepted fashionable diseases: an analysis prompted by the Dutch epidemic of obstetric ‘pelvic instability,’ ” The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine, 2002; 6(2):91-96.
• “Alternative treatments in reproductive medicine: much ado about nothing,” Human Reproduction, 2002; 17(3):528-533. [DOI]
• “Between hysteria and quackery: some reflections on the Dutch epidemic of ‘pelvic instability’ ” [Author's reply to letter], Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2001; 22(1):62-63. [DOI]
• “Between hysteria and quackery: some reflections on the Dutch epidemic of ‘pelvic instability,’ ” Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2000; 21(4):235-239. [DOI]
• “Trials of homeopathy” [letter], The Lancet, 1993 Jun 12; 341(8859):1533-1534.