• Contact Us
• Discussion Forum
• Links
• FAQs
• Sitemap

July 2008 press releases

7 July

British Homeopathic Association welcomes Darzi report

Lord Darzi’s report 'High Quality Care for All' endorses the principles embodied in the practice of homeopathy, which has been part of the NHS since its inception in 1948.(1)

Darzi envisages a healthcare system measured much more on the quality of care and the patient’s view of the outcome from treatment. These are exactly the sorts of measures used in patient outcome studies at the NHS homeopathic hospitals, which show excellent results.

In 2005, the largest study of homeopathic treatment reported that 70% of 6,500 follow-up patients at Bristol Homeopathic Hospital experienced improvement in their health. Eczema, asthma, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, depression and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) were most commonly treated – difficult chronic problems suffered by many patients.(2) A recent study in children with eczema has shown that homeopathy can achieve clinical benefit similar to conventional drugs.(3)

Homeopathic doctors working in hospitals and as GPs are pioneers in the field of integrated medicine, providing the NHS with a valuable range of services for groups of hard-to-treat patients, combining the best of medical and complementary treatments. The hospitals have emerged as leading centres for a successful approach to long-term conditions.

The Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital was commissioned by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde to create a new service for patients with CFS. This illness is often an intractable one for conventional medicine but has been shown to respond to homeopathy.(4)

Homeopathy has never been so popular; currently 15% of the population of Britain trust it and over 30 million Europeans use it. The Faculty of Homeopathy has over 850 doctors and other health professionals in the UK integrating homeopathy into their practice every day.

Dr Sara Eames, President of the Faculty of Homeopathy, said, “We welcome the focus on patients reflected in Lord Darzi’s report and trust that it will help patients gain easier access to NHS homeopathy. Homeopathy works, and in my practice many patients experience improvements in their health – especially those who are not helped by conventional medicine”.

Ends/….

Contact: Melanie Oxley on 0870 444 3950 or 07975 978457

Notes for editors:

• Homeopathy enjoys a healthy research culture and there are 34 PhDs currently investigating Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the UK.

• 45% of the peer-reviewed trials of homeopathy have been positive – only six trials were negative.

• The British Homeopathic Association and the Faculty of Homeopathy are taking forward a number of research initiatives in the medical and dental professions, which will help give the public and healthcare purchasers the evidence they need in order to continue accessing homeopathy for a wide range of conditions.

• Members of the Faculty of Homeopathy are statutorily regulated health professionals who integrate homeopathy into their practice. Registered doctors have GMC registration and undergo the same revalidation procedures. The hospitals provide consultant-led services which take referrals from GPs and NHS specialists and are staffed by medical doctors who have qualified in homeopathy.

References:

(1) Homeopathy is the only complementary therapy that was incorporated into the NHS at its inception in 1948. Today there are five NHS homeopathic hospitals: in London, Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool and Tunbridge Wells.

(2) Spence DS, Thompson EA, Barron SJ. Homeopathic treatment for chronic disease: a 6-year university-hospital outpatient observational study. Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine 2005; 11: 793-798.

(3) Keil T, Witt CM, Roll S, et al. Homeopathic versus conventional treatment of children with eczema: a comparative cohort study. Complementary Therapies in Medicine 2008; 16: 15-21.

(4) Ernst E, Pittler MH, Wilder B, Boddy K. The Oxford Handbook of Complementary Medicine 2008. p.69 OUP.