Alternative medicine to be offered free on the NHS (UK)

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Hi all,

 

Taken from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?

xml=/news/2004/10/09/nmed09.xml

 

or

 

http://tinyurl.com/6tltd

 

 

Alternative medicine to be offered free on the NHS

By Rachel Sylvester and Celia Hall

(Filed: 09/10/2004)

 

Greater use of complementary and alternative therapies on the NHS is

to be encouraged by the Government despite concern from doctors

about regulation and funding.

 

Booklets, funded by the Department of Health and produced by Prince

of Wales's Foundation for Integrated Health, will be distributed to

every GP surgery next month, describing a list of free therapies

including osteopathy, acupuncture, aromatherapy and homoeopathy.

 

Prince Charles, a long-term advocate of complementary and

alternative medicines, was influential in persuading ministers of

the benefits of such treatments. The Prime Minister is said to be

particularly enthusiastic.

 

But doctors raised concerns yesterday about the money to pay for

such treatments. They are also worried about safety and the lack of

evidence on efficacy. Prof Edzard Ernst, professor of complementary

medicine at the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, said

alternative medicines should " definitely " be available on the NHS -

provided they had been proved to be effective and safe.

 

But he warned: " The worst thing we can do in the NHS is to introduce

double standards. We have evidence-based medicine. Where there is

evidence we introduce a new treatment, where there is none we don't.

When there is no evidence, we throw it out.

 

" We should not be using therapies that are not demonstrably safe and

efficient. "

 

Dr Hamish Meldrum, the chairman of the GPs' committee at the British

Medical Association, said: " Regulation of complementary medicines is

at best imperfect and doctors must always be confident about the

person they are referring a patient to. "

 

He added: " There must be redress to a professional body if something

goes wrong and complementary medicines have a very long way to go

when it comes to regulation.

 

" If you are going to encourage this then you have to be able to

ensure standards. "

 

Dr Meldrum said money was another factor. " If taxpayers are expected

to pay for this then they must know that they are getting value for

money, " he added.

 

The Department of Health confirmed that patients could now ask their

GP to refer them, free of charge, to practitioners of any of the

therapies.

 

" We want to give people choice and people want to see these

treatments available on the NHS, " a spokesman said. " Where they are

judged to be clinically effective, then you will be able to get them

on the NHS. "

 

The spokesman added that paying for a course of acupuncture to treat

severe headaches, for example, was cheaper than sending a patient

for a brain scan.

 

 

Attilio

www.attiliodalberto.com