NHS Alliance president supports use of complimentary medicine

The president of the NHS Alliance, Professor Chris Drinkwater, has said that he supports the use of alternative and complimentary medicines in the NHS.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that doctors had written to primary care trusts to demand that budgets spent on treatments like homeopathy – an “implausible therapy” – should be diverted to “treatments that are based on solid evidence”, according to the Times.

Professor Drinkwater told BBC One’s One O’Clock News: ” If [opponents] really think there are going to be large savings made from the NHS not funding complementary therapy then I think they ought to be able to tell us how much the NHS is spending on complementary therapy.”

“Yes, the research to date has shown inconclusive evidence except in one or two areas. There is strong evidence around acupuncture and osteoarthritis of the knee there is also reasonably good evidence for the use of St John’s Wort in the treatment of depression so there is evidence,” he added.

The professor said that the potential savings of removing alternative treatments from the NHS would represent “peanuts” in comparison with the NHS budget and that in some trials, it has actually been shown that complimentary medicines can reduce the prescription of expensive medicines and referrals.

Yesterday, a breast cancer specialist from the University College of London told BBC Radio Four that evidence needed to be presented, just like any other medical or pharmaceutical product.

Professor Michael Baum said: “All we are asking for is a single standard. By all means, let homeopathy jump over the hurdles that we have had to jump over. There is nothing in homeopathy. It is nonsense.”

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