One of King Charles's charities is forced to pay back £110,000 after a proposed 'Indian clinic' is axed

One of the King’s charities is being forced to return up to £110,000 to the Indian government after a proposed NHS alternative medicine clinic never opened.

Charles, then the Prince of Wales, unveiled a plaque marking the ‘inauguration of a centre of excellence and research and Indian traditional medicine’ with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi at a hospital in west London in 2018.

It was proposed that Ayush treatments would be provided to patients, who would be referred by local GPs, at St Charles Hospital in Kensington. 

Ayush refers to alternative medicine systems such as Ayurveda, a system of healing which has been practised in India for thousands of years.

Ayurveda, which means ‘science of life’ in Sanskrit, is based on the idea that all matter is composed of five elements – air, fire, water, earth and space. 

Ayurvedic treatment for general ailments can include massage, yoga, meditation, aromatherapy or herbal steams to rid the body of toxins.

The King, 75, has long been known to have an interest in alternative medicine. Last week it emerged that Dr Michael Dixon, a semi-retired pro-homeopathy GP from Devon, has been head of the royal medical household for a year.

Isaac Mathai, who runs Soukya, a homeopathic yoga retreat in Bangalore which Charles and Camilla have visited, was an adviser to the project at St Charles Hospital. 

The Indian government made a payment from the budget of the Ayush Ministry, which Mr Modi has used as a tool of diplomacy to promote Indian medicine and culture worldwide, to the King’s Foundation.

It was proposed the charity would use its expertise to help set up the clinic. But yesterday it emerged the NHS at no point agreed to the plans, according to The Sunday Times.

The west London clinical commissioning group (CCG), which administered St Charles Hospital at the time, told the newspaper there were talks but the centre ‘did not materialise as the proposed collaboration did not move forward’.

A spokesman said: ‘Provision of homeopathy and herbal treatments were not considered as part of the project by the CCG. The aim of the project was to test the use of yoga and massage to support the overall health and wellbeing of patients with long-term conditions. Discussions ceased in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.’

A King’s Foundation spokesman said the initial intention had been a project to deliver Indian traditional medicine at St Charles Hospital but ‘due to the Covid pandemic, the project moved online’.

The spokesman added: ‘As a result of this the project costs were considerably less, and the foundation contacted the High Commission to arrange the return of unused funds. In the meantime, the funds continue to be held in a restricted pot.’

In 2017 the NHS stopped funding the prescription of homeopathic remedies due to a lack of evidence over effectiveness.