BHA: July 2008 press releases

BHA

July 2008 press releases

29 July

West Kent Primary Care Trust cuts services and says ‘No’ to effective healthcare

Short-sighted local cuts in stark contrast to national picture

Homeopathic prescriptions - the true picture
(in response to news that homeopathic prescriptions are falling)

West Kent Primary Care Trust cuts services and says ‘No’ to effective healthcare

West Kent Primary Care Trust (PCT) has turned its back on patient choice and public involvement, and cut services at the Tunbridge Wells Homoeopathic Hospital.

PCT members, who made their decision at a Board meeting on 24 July, refused to acknowledge the experiences of patients who have found NHS homeopathic healthcare highly effective. The decision could lead to the closure of the Tunbridge Wells Homoeopathic Hospital in March 2009.

West Kent PCT’s action will deprive patients with chronic and long-term conditions of the right to effective treatment from expert NHS consultants, who practice both homeopathy and conventional medicine in the NHS.

John Cook, Chairman of the British Homeopathic Association, was refused the right to address the PCT Board before they made their final decision. PCT Chair, David Griffiths said that Cook could only speak to the Board meeting once the decision had been taken by Board members.

After the meeting Cook said: “It is a sad day for patient choice. The PCT decided patients will no longer have the right to treatment that works! Managers with no experience of homeopathy are telling patients, who have been successfully treated by doctors at the Tunbridge Wells Homoeopathic Hospital, that they lose that right to effective treatment for chronic and long-term conditions.”

“The PCT snubbed the Government on two central planks of national policy – patient choice and public involvement. It seems they have set aside their legal duty to involve patients and the public in the development of local health policy and services.”

“We will raise this issue with the Healthcare Commission and Strategic Health Authority, bodies responsible for monitoring the PCT. The matter will also be raised with Health Secretary, Alan Johnson MP.”

Ends/…

Background:

The Tunbridge Wells Homoeopathic Hospital is an NHS hospital located in Church Road, Tunbridge Wells, and is a centre of excellence for homeopathy and other forms of complementary medicine such as acupuncture.

Services are provided by NHS consultants who are conventionally-trained doctors specialising in homeopathy and other complementary therapies.

West Kent Primary Care Trust holds the budget for all patients who live in their catchment area and currently pays for all referrals to the hospital.

A public consultation held in 2007 revealed that most respondents want the hospital kept open.

In 2007 a patient commenced Judicial Review proceedings in the High Court to quash the PCT's decision to cut homeopathy. The court ruled that the consultation process met the legal criteria at the time, but forced the PCT to re-examine the process used before a fresh decision returned to the PCT.

The PCT re-examined their plan for cuts on 24 July 2008.

Short-sighted local cuts in stark contrast to national picture

Tunbridge Wells Homeopathic Hospital is receiving NHS referrals for the next eight months before contracts are due to cease. The situation there is more complicated than the loss of a small homeopathic service and involves widespread cuts to many local services deemed to be expendable, largely due to bad management by the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust. This is a regional decision with no implications for the other four NHS homeopathic hospitals. It flies in the face of patient choice and adversely affects around 500 NHS patients who currently benefit from homeopathic treatment over the course of a year. At an estimated cost of £400 per patient, this is a cheap service with exceptional results.1

The picture at the other four NHS Homeopathic Hospitals is very different, with GP/PCT referrals either stable or growing. In fact the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital is over-performing on their contract: the hospital is ahead of its target for numbers of new and follow-up patients set by the University College London Hospital(s) Trust.

The Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital (GHH) has had stable appointments over the last five years, and its new chronic fatigue syndrome service, commissioned by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, will attract more patients with this difficult illness, which homeopathy is known to help significantly.

At Bristol Homeopathic Hospital (BHH) referrals to homeopathy have increased in recent months and are unchanged compared to a year ago. New referrals come mainly from oncologists referring patients suffering side effects from cancer treatments, for which there is a good evidence base.

NHS homeopathy is provided by regulated health professionals, is supported by a good evidence-base and has consistently excellent outcomes.2 The positive trend will continue because patients find homeopathic treatment helpful, often when conventional treatment has failed or has caused unwanted side effects. There is no evidence to suggest that the popularity of homeopathy has diminished, nor is there evidence of a ‘shift in attitude’ among doctors.

Three years ago, economist Christopher Smallwood found that half of all NHS referrals for complementary therapy were for homeopathy, using service agreements between Primary Care Trusts and homeopathy providers and despite some shifting around, this is largely the case now. Smallwood also suggested substantial savings could be made by introducing homeopathy into general practice.3

Contact Melanie Oxley for more information: 0870 444 3950 / 07975 978457 / moxley@trusthomeopathy.org

References:

1 Thompson EA, Mathie RT, Baitson ES, et al. Towards standard setting for patient-reported outcomes in the NHS homeopathic hospitals. Homeopathy 2008; vol 97:3 (July issue): pp. 114-121

2 The Research Evidence Base for Homeopathy. http://www.trusthomeopathy.org/pdf/Summaryofresearchevidence.pdf

3 The Role of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the NHS, led by Christopher Smallwood, Freshminds, 2005

Homeopathic prescriptions - the true picture

There are 400 medical GPs who are regulated by the GMC and are members of the Faculty of Homeopathy, providing an essential service for around 200,000 NHS patients; the homeopathic hospitals provide 55,000 appointments per year. This situation has not perceptibly changed over the last 2-3 years. The reasons for the steady fall in homeopathic prescriptions in primary care over the last two years may be affected by the following factors:

Although balanced by increased patient numbers, the proportion of prescriptions actually written by a GP is not representative of the whole; other health professionals such as nurses and pharmacists have prescribing rights.

The cost of buying a homeopathic medicine over the counter is often less than for a NHS prescription (prescription £7.10, homeopathic medicine typically less than £5.00). Increasingly, prescribers are recommending their patient buys the remedy over the counter, saving the patient money.

Only a tiny proportion of the 3,500 plus homeopathic medicines available are listed in the computer software for GPs, and so most homeopathic prescriptions are handwritten. It is not clear whether these are entered into the data.
Referrals to NHS homeopathic services remain steady and over the counter sales are increasing; there is clearly no decline in the popularity of homeopathy, so factors such as those above, must be responsible.(1)

References:

1 Analysis by Dr Lee Kayne MFHom(Pharm), Pharmacy Dean, Faculty of Homeopathy 0141 644 4344