Seal of approval for homeopaths is a quacks’ charter

Some people believe the nonsense claims made about treatments

Of all the pressing issues facing us, I doubt that the training of water salesmen has ever given you sleepless nights. If you buy water from a shop, it’s unlikely you care about the way it is handed over the counter or whether it has been stored in a particular way.

But the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) does care — very much indeed. It is about to introduce a register of water sellers that will allow some to display a kitemark.

You might wonder why the PSA, which oversees the General Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and other bodies that supervise legally-defined medical professionals, is involving itself with such stuff.

So here are some clues that might help