Doctors renew drive to ban NHS homeopathy

http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,2085784,00.html

· Letter urges health trusts to stop funding therapies
· Prince Charles criticised for 'mingling in politics'

James Randerson, science correspondent
Wednesday May 23, 2007
The Guardian

"A group of senior doctors and scientists has stepped up its campaign
to stop homeopathic treatment being funded on the NHS. In a letter to
primary health care trusts, the seven argue that the evidence for a
benefit from the complementary therapy "is equivocal at best, despite
many years of research and hundreds of studies".

The letter comes exactly a year after a similar one from a larger
group of scientists, including a Nobel prizewinner and six fellows of
the Royal Society. Since then, several PCTs have taken their advice,
prompting hospitals such as the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital -
which provides a range of alternative treatments - to warn that they
may be forced to close because of lack of NHS business.

In April, Peter Fisher, personal homeopath to the Queen and
clinical director of the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, wrote an
open letter to the monarch, its patron, asking for her support to save
the hospital. The Queen reportedly takes 60 vials of homeopathic
remedies with her when she goes abroad in case she falls ill.

One signatory of the latest letter criticised Prince Charles' defence
of alternative medicine following the first letter. "It has been
wholly inappropriate because it is not his role as Prince of Wales to
mingle in health politics," said Edzard Ernst, who is professor of
complementary medicine at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter.
Another signatory, David Colquhoun, professor of pharmacology at
University College London, called homeopathy "crack-pot medicine". The
lead author of the letter, Gustav Born, emeritus professor of
pharmacology at Kings College London said: "There are still trusts
that continue to use these unproven remedies... That is why we have
written again to all the PCTs urging them to follow the commissioning
example set by others."

David Fish, medical director at the University of London Hospital
trust, which includes the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, said
there was a strong demand from patients for alternative treatments.
But Hillingdon PCT, which had been spending around £60,000 annually on
homeopathy, decided to stop funding the therapy around two years ago.
Hammersmith and Fulham PCT and Westminster PCT, which between them
spent more than £300,000 on homeopathy treatment last year, also plan
to cease the treatment.

However, the scientists behind the campaign insist it is about more
than money. "While it may be tempting to dismiss homeopathy
expenditure as relatively small across the NHS, we must consider the
cultural and social damage of maintaining as a matter of principle
expenditure on practices which are unsupported by evidence," they
wrote."