Axe £260,000 funding for Bristol Homeopathic Hospital, say MPs
Tuesday, February 23, 2010, 07:00

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MPs have called for the £260,000 NHS funding given to Bristol Homeopathic Hospital to be axed.

A report into the use of public funds to pay for patients to receive homeopathy branded it a placebo or dummy treatment with no scientific proof of its effectiveness, despite Prince Charles being a strong supporter of alternative medicine.

The Commons' Science and Technology committee yesterday called for doctors to stop referring patients for homeopathic treatment – which involves giving extremely diluted doses of substances that produce similar symptoms to the illness to be treated – on the NHS.

Bristol Homeopathic Hospital, which is run by University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, sees more than 1,700 patients from the city each year and treats people from 19 different health trusts in the region.

In 2008/09, NHS Bristol, which pays for health services in the city, spent £259,896 on referrals to the hospital.

But after an in-depth inquiry, the damning report by the Science and Technology committee criticises the Government for admitting there is no evidence to support the practice yet allowing taxpayers' cash to be spent on homeopathy.

While it concedes patients often report improvements in their conditions, the failure to acknowledge that the treatments are "sugar coated pills" will erode trust.

Bristol North West MP Doug Naysmith is a committee member and former immunologist.

Dr Naysmith said: "The main message is that there is no real scientific validation or evidence that homeopathy works.

"I want to make it clear that I am not calling for a ban on homeopathy but I think we should withdraw the funding of prescriptions.

"It would not mean the hospital had to close down, as most homeopathic doctors don't just work in homeopathic medicine."

Bristol has a long tradition as a centre for homeopathic medicine, with practitioners recorded in the city as long ago as 1852. By 1921 a hospital on the grounds of Cotham House offered treatment and led to the modern-day incarnation as Bristol Homeopathic Hospital, one of just four in the UK supported by the NHS.

Research carried into the effectiveness of homeopathy includes observational study over a six-year period conducted by Bristol Homeopathic Hospital. It found 70 per cent of follow-up patients reported improved health, with half reporting a major improvement.

But the report states that the positive results can be explained by the illnesses clearing up on their own, patients choosing homeopathy being more likely to be those who believe in its effectiveness, and the long, empathetic consultations giving patients a positive perception of the treatment.

University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust spokeswoman, Laura Treasure, said: "We provide homeopathy for patients who require it alongside all appropriate conventional care.

"The service is commissioned from the trust by various primary care trusts in the region and is provided within a safe, regulated environment under the guidance and governance of the NHS.

"We will continue to provide a homeopathy service in response to commissioner requirements."

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No problem with people using that rubbish, as long as they themselves choose to and it is not paid for by the taxpayer. I know some people who only use homeopathic remedies and they aren't much less healthy than any of us. But they are, ultimately, less healthy than most of us.