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Report backs provision of NHS homeopathy in Northern Ireland

19 February 2009

The Faculty of Homeopathy welcomes the findings of a government-funded study which calls for the integration of complementary medicine into NHS primary care in Northern Ireland.

The study, commissioned by Northern Ireland’s Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS), evaluated a pilot project delivered by Get Well UK through nine GP practices in Belfast and Londonderry.

It found that 84% of patients directly linked improvements in their health to the complementary therapies they received. The results were particularly positive for homeopathy and the report concluded that integrating homeopathic treatment has potentially significant cost-saving benefits for the NHS.

The study has re-inforced the Faculty of Homeopathy’s proposal for the integration of a medical homeopathy service in Northern Ireland. A Faculty delegation met recently with the Health Committee at Stormont to deliver a business plan for the future provision of services, which generated much interest.

Northern Ireland Faculty doctor Gary Smyth comments: “We are very encouraged by the Health Committee’s positive response to our proposal for an NHS medical homeopathy service, and are looking forward to meeting with the Health Minister shortly, to discuss this further.”

Homeopathy is already provided by Faculty doctors and other healthcare professionals in a number of NHS settings across the rest of the UK, so the Faculty of Homeopathy is well-placed to develop a similar model in Northern Ireland.

The NHS homeopathic hospitals in Bristol, Glasgow, London, Liverpool and Tunbridge Wells are great examples of how effective integrated homeopathy can be: on average 70% of follow-up patients at these hospitals have reported an improvement in their health.¹ These observational studies are backed up by a substantial body of clinical research evidence, in the form of randomised controlled trials and meta-analyses, that points to the positive effect of homeopathy in a range of conditions.²

Cristal Sumner, Chief Executive of the Faculty of Homeopathy, comments: “The Faculty of Homeopathy is the only body that can offer patients a homeopathy service provided by statutorily regulated practitioners. Members of the Faculty are doctors trained in conventional medicine with additional postgraduate training in homeopathy. This means they are best placed to decide on the clinical care of patients and deliver an integrated, cost-effective approach, with both conventional and homeopathic medicine at their disposal.”

References
1. See http://www.facultyofhomeopathy.org/research/clinical_outcomes_studies.html
2. Download a two page summary of the research evidence base for homeopathy: http://www.facultyofhomeopathy.org/export/sites/faculty_site/research/evidencesummary.pdf