The British Homeopathic Association today welcomed the report by Christopher Smallwood which recommends an increase in the availability of complementary and alternative medicines in the NHS.

Together with the Faculty of Homeopathy (FoH), the professional body for doctors and other healthcare professionals who practise homeopathy, they stated that homeopathy could easily be extended throughout the NHS by establishing specialist clinics led by doctors trained in homeopathy taking referrals from local GPs. The BHA has already piloted a number of such clinics.

However both organisations take issue with an assertion in the press release that cites many studies suggesting the beneficial effects of homeopathy were not superior to placebos, whereas the summary report actually says “…many studies over the past 40 years…appear to suggest that homeopathy is better than placebo in trials… ”.

On a more practical level, doctors and other healthcare professionals who practise homeopathy also welcomed the view that in areas where conventional medicine is not responding adequately to the needs of patients, complementary therapies are often at their most effective. Dr David Spence, Chairman of the BHA and Clinical Director of Bristol Homeopathic Hospital (one of five NHS homeopathic hospitals) agrees. “This is entirely consistent with the experience of the NHS homeopathic hospitals which have a demonstrable track record of filling just this gap,” he said.

Mr John Saxton, President of the Faculty of Homeopathy, welcomed the suggestion that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) should review the potential role of complementary therapies in the NHS. However, this should not be approached solely from a narrow, orthodox, perspective: “We would encourage NICE to develop its assessment methods for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in the context of complementary therapy, and to include more comprehensive ways of understanding the real world experience of homeopathic patients such as clinical outcome studies and qualitative research.”

The report makes a number of recommendations, including increasing the funds available for research into the cost-effectiveness of CAM treatments and maintaining the GP's role as 'gate-keeper' in the provision of CAM therapies on the NHS. The full report (including a full list of conclusions and recommendations on pages 17-18) can be viewed at http://www.freshminds.co.uk/aboutus/chr.htm