With thanks to The Times Online 26.2.10:
Sara Eames, President of the Faculty of Homeopathy says YES.
Homeopathy should be available on the NHS. I am a trained doctor and I have used homeopathy in general practice and in a homeopathic hospital. I am able to help more patients with an appropriate mixture of homeopathy and conventional medicine than with either system alone.
Homeopathy has been practised safely and effectively for more than 200 years. It has been part of the NHS since its inception in 1948.
In general practice it provides a cost-effective way of dealing with common problems. It’s incredibly useful for the treatment of mild, acute conditions such as viral infections, diarrhoea and vomiting, injuries and the management of some long-term symptoms.
Once patients get used to using homeopathic remedies, often they can use simple remedies themselves and consult doctors only if the medicine doesn’t work. This will save the NHS time that otherwise would be taken up by consultations and money that would have been spent on prescriptions.
Furthermore, many patients are delighted to have an alterative to commonly used medications, such as antibiotics, steroids and anti-inflammatories. Second, homeopathy can be very useful in hospitals.
The four NHS homeopathic hospitals in the UK are staffed by conventionally trained doctors and nurses, and all patients are referred by their own doctors, often when they have not responded to conventional medicine.
The argument that a remedy that has a placebo effect has no place in the NHS is flawed. The role of the NHS is to make patients better and I’m very happy to use all treatments that do that. And all treatments can have a placebo effect, not only homeopathy.
Studies from homeopathic hospitals show considerable benefit to patients. A study in Bristol of more than 6,000 patients, published in 2005, showed that 70 per cent experienced improvement not only in their main complaint but also in their overall wellbeing. There have been more than 100 double-blind trials on homeopathy. Far more are positive than negative — and that is after correcting for the placebo effect.
These statistics have been subject to controversy, but they are only part of the picture. Healthcare decisions involve many factors, including patient choice, safety, outcome studies and cost-effectiveness.
We all pay for the NHS and patients should be able to receive the treatment they want.
What will happen to patients who are not helped by conventional medicine if there is no alternative?
The sensible integration of homeopathy and other complementary therapies into healthcare can relieve the financial burden on the NHS while providing a service that patients appreciate.
#1 by Christy Redd on March 12, 2010 - 6:22 am
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Of course homeopathy should continue to be available on the NHS.
It’s shocking to me that anyone would seriously consider removing it from NHS, cutting funds to homeopathic hospitals, removing remedies from shelves or constraining the practice of homeopathy. In the end, what the government should be focusing on is supporting healing modalities which physicians and patients alike find to satisfy health care needs.
With all of the documented clinical work, its proven success in preventing/treating epidemics of diseases like flu and leptospirosis, and the growing volume of studies (including the most recent study done at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center on breast cancer cells) and its low cost, the only rational decision would be to continue funding homeopathy.