‘Self-healing’ coach who was banned from working in Australia to speak in UK

A controversial proponent of natural remedies who has been banned from providing any health services in Australia is due to embark on a series of events in the UK and Ireland despite criticism from scientists, health charities and academic bodies.

Barbara O’Neill, who describes herself as a naturopath and nutritionist, lectures internationally on “natural self-healing”.

She has previously claimed that cancer is a fungus that can be treated with bicarbonate soda, that vaccines have caused an epidemic of conditions including autism and cot death, and that pregnant women with Strep B do not have to take antibiotics.

Now experts in the UK have raised concerns in a letter to venues across UK and Ireland where O’Neill, 73, is scheduled to speak.

The letter – which was organised by Dr David Robert Grimes, a science communicator and expert in Biostatistics at Trinity College Dublin – describes O’Neill as “a leading vector of medical misinformation”, adding that she repeatedly made “misguided medical assertions”, gave “unqualified advice” and promoted “abject demonisation of conventional medical treatment.”

The letter notes that O’Neill charges thousands of dollars for retreats and telephone consultations, and raises concerns about the events due to be held at the venues.

“At the event, she will spread dangerous health fictions to a susceptible audience, leeching off an illusion of legitimacy afforded to her by the surrounds of your respectable establishment,” it said.

Among those who have signed the letter are Orla Dolan, the chief executive of Breakthrough Cancer Research; Prof Colin Doherty, head of Trinity College Dublin School of Medicine; Prof David Colquhoun, a fellow of the Royal Society and University College London; and Sander van der Linden, professor of Psychology at the University of Cambridge.

Grimes, who has authored a book on medical misinformation, told the Guardian that O’Neill presented as a kindly grandmother dispensing natural wisdom.

“Medical misinformation kills, and we wrote the letter because we have seen first-hand the profound and tragic harms that health fictions inflict on vulnerable patients … We hope making people aware of this reality mitigates her ability to inflict harm elsewhere,” he said.

According to recent findings by the UK’s Academy of Medical Sciences, 67% of UK adults see health misinformation as a significant or very serious problem, with 89% viewing it as putting lives at risk.

O’Neill is no stranger to controversy. In 2019, the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) in Australia concluded an investigation into her professional conduct. Among its findings, the investigation found O’Neill “does not recognise that she is misleading vulnerable people (including mothers and cancer sufferers) by providing very selective information. The misinformation has real potential to have a detrimental effect on the health of individuals because Mrs O’Neill also discourages mainstream treatment for cancer, antibiotics and vaccinations.”

She was permanently barred from providing any health services either voluntarily or in a paid capacity. The HCCC has confirmed its prohibition orders are enforceable across all of Australia.

However, the ruling has not prevented O’Neill and her husband, Michael, from running events in other countries, including the UK, where she has given seminars at the luxury golf resort Trump Turnberry among other venues.

The latest string of engagements includes a five-day retreat at the Cranage Estate in Cheshire in early October.

Titled A Taste of Misty Mountain, the event includes lectures by O’Neill with titles such as What Really Does Cause Disease, The Science of Breath and The Immune System, as well as talks by Michael, including one titled Barbara Under Attack. A ticket for the event, which includes a dinner dance, costs £700.

Another multi-day event featuring Barbara O’Neill, run by the Christian health and wellness group Balm of Gilead, is scheduled for mid-October at the City North hotel and conference centre in Gormanston, Ireland.

O’Neill and her husband are also scheduled to appear at the Founders and Future festival at Glasgow University Union, with the event website noting the pair will be “headlining the main stage”.

In a reply to the letter’s authors, the De Vere Cranage Estate said it wa a hotel and conference venue that hosted a wide range of events on behalf of private clients, organisations and businesses, adding it “would not normally become involved in the content or opinions expressed at privately organised events”.

Cameron MacKenzie, president of Glasgow University Union, told the Guardian the events held in the building by external organisers were in no way affiliated or endorsed by the GUU board of management.

“The organisers of the Founders and Future festival have entered into a booking contract with us, and are free to use the spaces we provide so long as their activities align with our booking terms and conditions, our internal policies and the laws of Scotland and the UK,” he said. “To our knowledge, nothing currently outlined by the organisers seems to violate these terms.”

Michael O’Neill told the Guardian the ban from the HCCC had “serious legal flaws” that were under investigation, and that “there are political moves to place the HCCC organization under investigation for their clear bias against natural wellness practitioners.”

He also stated: “Barbara never received a single complaint of harm from a patient, as the complaints were purely ideology, based on supposition, not facts. The HCCC is largely funded by pharmaceutical money and is a seriously conflicted organisation.”

Prof David Elliman, a consultant at Great Ormond Street hospital and clinical adviser to the UK National Screening Committee and Newborn Blood Spot Screening Programme, said the science did not support Barbara O’Neill’s suggestions.

“If people follow her advice at the expense of evidence-based advice, this will be dangerous and result in the death of some people,” he said. He added that, in principle, he would support a mandatory requirement for people offering health advice for money to state their qualifications to do so.

Prof Liam Smeeth, director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said he did not back banning speakers, noting it could be counter-productive and that he was supportive of free speech within the bounds of not inciting direct violence and hatred.

But he said O’Neill’s claims were unscientific and the potential for harm was great. “She’s trying to make a profit out of people’s understandable fears and confusion when it comes to serious health issues,” he said. “And that’s a terrible thing to be making money from.”

A spokesperson for the HCCC said: “The commission permanently prohibited Mrs Barbara O’Neill from providing any health services in 2019, after finding she made dangerous claims not supported by evidence and posed a risk to public safety.

“While the order does not apply overseas, the commission urges people attending events with Mrs O’Neill to be wary of health misinformation and to check any advice she gives with a registered health practitioner.”