Murder of the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital !

[Carol Boyce]

DEATH BY STEALTH
Thanks for your attention - I hope that you will read to the end of this email, for there is a travesty in progress.
The Royal London Homeopathic Hospital (RLHH) - the visible presence of homeopathy within the NHS - an institute putting homeopathy in the public mind for the last 150 years - the place where homeopathy was seen to perform so well in the cholera epidemic of 1840's - is being dealt a DEATH BLOW.

The moves are subtle and insidious, but nonetheless relentless and they won't stop until the hospital is closed. In these insane times, I have to protect my source but I have it on absolute authority that without a highly visible, vocal and active campaign, the hospital will be closed within the year, with other homeopathic institutions to follow.

The recent (smear) media campaign led by Prof. Ernst, Exeter Univ. Chair of CAM, and cost cutting in an NHS strapped for cash, are cited as the main reasons. Yet the RLHH is one of the very few areas of the NHS that actually makes money over it's budget!

Without a doubt politics are at work.

A little history of the Stealth involved.......The In Patient beds at the RLHH were the first to go. Patients then received day care at the hospital and were put up in a local hotel as a means of saving money. Now this has been stopped and treatment restricted to Outpatients only.

In typical media outrage - led again by Prof Ernst - it was claimed that the 43 million pound revamp of the RLHH building was NHS money that should never have been used for a therapy that doesn't work. (As per Prof Ernst's Lancet article in 2005.)

The fact of the matter is that the money for the revamp was donated by benefactors to be used for the HOMEOPATHIC HOSPITAL ALONE. It was not money that could have been allocated elsewhere in the NHS.

BUT of course (and call me cynical) if you allow the hospital to be revamped and THEN push out the homeopaths, you can use a state of the art building for all kinds of other NHS departments. The Camden PCT (Primary Care Trust) dictated that the homeopathic allergy clinic must now be held over at the main University College Hospital site. It's perfect - now the brand new rooms are not being used by the homeopaths and in order to be economically effective must be used by some other department - like the neighbouring neurology department's private practice! (I kid you not - what was initially a once a month event is now several times a week - the neurologists have already got their feet under the consulting desk....)
A number of PCTs have already cut funding and others intend to, so that their patients will not be able to obtain homeopathy on the NHS. Hammersmith and Fulham are not allowing new referrals to the RLHH, six PCTs including Islington have already, or plan to, cut their contracts from April this year, other PCTs plan to follow suit and direct GP's NOT to refer patients to the RLHH. Then Camden PCT can accuse the RLHH of a reducing patient base. Perfect. If this wasn't a literal account of events, it might be amusing in it's bizarre simplicity. And all this at a time when the Government is committed to patient choice in a patient led NHS.
The PCT even want to change the RLHH's name, and remove the word Homeopathic from the title, despite the building being a local landmark for more than 150 years!
The "Powers that be' at the RLHH have mounted (imho) a token gesture of a campaign - a letter is given to each patient and they are asked to write to their MP. Best case scenario is political naivety. There has been no attempt to utilize the internet, no attempt to contact the royal family, which in itself is mystifying since the Queen is the RLHH's Royal Patron. No attempt to contact the wider homeopathic community. I have heard a serious 'rumour' that staff have been told to keep a low profile.

No matter what your party politics, it seems to me that this is in line with the modus operanda of the day - quiet insidious shenanigans until - oops it's a faite accomplish and too late to do anything.

Whatever you might think about the quality of homeopathy being practiced at the RLHH, they are doing important work especially in the areas of allergies, autism and ADD even given their limitation of a 20 minute consultation. They are devoted homeopaths doing their best in a less than ideal situation.
They provide a credible face of homeopathy for the general public and with 40,000 patient appointments every year make homeopathy available on the NHS for a significant number of patients who could not afford to have it otherwise.
In 2005 " 67% of individual GPS and 85% of practices in the host PCT (Camden) referred patients; an increase of 29%...." (Interesting timing of this move to close the hospital .....)

The RLHH provides a: "....holistic, patient centred, low risk, low cost, low tech approach...It offers effective and cost-effective treatments; averts multiple referrals and investigations, and treatments with which many patients fail to comply or find ineffective."

We live in a time when many are afraid to speak their truth for fear of ridicule from colleagues, friends and family; fear of loss of position or status or research funding; fear in many form and guises...... we live in a time when imho building bridges is more important than standing on ceremony. I know first hand that the RLHH people have respect for professional homeopaths, the work we do, the standard of our education. I presented at a homeopathic educators conference in 2004 in Malvern - 110 homeopaths there - some of you were also there - professional homeopaths, medical homeopaths, homeopathic vets, homeopathic pharmacists - the first time we were all sharing ideas and learning from each other on a level playing field - it was amazing. If we are to keep homeopathy on the table of health care options, we have to work together.
If you share my view, please take action now, this concerted effort to remove homeopathy from the NHS is already in progress. It might be that Prof Ernst will put in motion another campaign to remove the remaining homeopathic community still practicing this 'ineffective' form of medicine.

We all know the issues, it's not about saving the NHS money, it's about politics and multi-national drug companies and the commercialization of medicine etc. etc. and it's my contention that those of us working in the same arena need to support each other. United we stand, divided we....well you know the rest!

So what can we do to preserve this institution?

Tell everyone you know about what is happening and ask them to also take action - your patients, your students, family, friends, anyone interested in free access to health care choices.

Write to the Chief Executive of your PCT, especially if you live in Islington.
(Dr. Rachel Tyndall for Islington)

Write to your MP and better yet ask them to ask a Parliamentary question.
MP's at: www.parliament.uk/directories/directories.cfm

Ask your MP to: Choose your two favourite questions from the list.
Ask the Secretary of State to estimate the amount of money saved to the NHS in 2005-2006 as a result of patients being referred to NHS homeopathic facilities.
Ask the Secretary of State to confirm that patients who receive NHS complementary medicine have repeatedly testified as to the effectiveness of their treatment.
Ask the Secretary of State to confirm the assurances given that as part of the Delivering the NHS Improvement Plan that patients will be given greater choice and that such choice will be respected by PCTs when patients and their GPs choose complimentary medicine within the NHS.
Ask the Secretary of State to confirm that since the NHS is now 'patient led' that any patient wishing to choose NHS homeopathic treatment will be able to access it from on of the four NHS hospitals.
Ask the Secretary of State to write to PCTs to remind them that access to homeopathy in the NHS should continue to be an option for all patients who choose this form of NHS care and treatment.
Ask the Secretary of State to confirm that the Government's commitment to patient choice will enable patients to choose homeopathy from a local NHS homeopathic clinic or NHS homeopathic hospital.
Ask the Secretary of State to confirm the Government's continuing commitment to providing homeopathy through NHS Homeopathic Hospitals.

Get out your best fountain pen and drop a line to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and ask her to intervene to preserve this 150 year old institution of which she is the Royal Patron.

Anything else you can think - please don't hesitate to send me emails with your ideas and I will pass them on. this is a personal campaign, not associated with anyone at the RLHH and driven purely by my inability to stand by and watch this institution die.
Thanks for your time. I hope you spread the word and make your feelings known.

Onward!

Carol Boyce MCH, CCH, RSHom (NA)
Concerned Homeopath and Teacher

--
The world needs Dreamers and the world needs Doers and most of all, the world needs Dreamers who Do.

[Simon King LCPH MARH]

Is there a Govt petition on this?
I not why not start one?

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/

Simon

[Carol Boyce]

Fantastic idea Simon - any and all help is welcome - right now I am on my own with this......

BUT I am now building the petition via the link you mentioned !! I'll let you know when it's done - it takes about a week apparently to be approved and accepted. In the meantime, any further ideas and support - please send them my way!

Thanks again.

Carol

[Simon King LCPH MARH]

Hi Carol,
sorry I really have no time at the moment, I have a lot of commitments I already have to make

kind regards

Simon
“What I offer people is not just talk,” he says “but a way to go inside and savor the peace that is within.” http://www.wordsofpeace.com/

[Carol Boyce]

Hey Simon,

No worries - me too! Maybe you can just send the email on to others, that's just as important. Plus - your suggestion of the petition site is enough for now!

Thanks again.

Carol

[Jean Doherty]

I think all would be grateful for your efforts. Please let us know when petition available, Very Best Wishes, Jean

[Tanya Marquette]

in the usa we often do letters to the editor
we also try to organize a public event and get the press there to
cover it.
writing and calling the government officials involved by the thousands
your petiton may include a feature with personal write in commentary.
just some things i have done on various issues.
tanya

[Carol Boyce]

Hi Tanya,

Thanks for your support - yes to all of your suggestions - at the moment though it is me alone and since like most of us I'm already working all hours I wanted to get the info out there and at least start the ball rolling.

I have just applied for an e-petition - if it is accepted we will have a webpage we can direct people to to sign the petition - my main concern is that the methods being used by the PCTs are so devious (I didn't mention half of them because the email was already long enough) that by the time it registers in the public domain it will be too late. Petitions are limited of course but if we can get a good number of signatures we may can get some questions asked and pause for thought while we mobilse the rest of the community.

The media in the UK has been pretty damning in it's coverage of homeopathy since the 2005 Lancet article - even 'quality' papers like the Guardian so letters to the editor may be harder than it was.

Again, thanks for your support and suggestions.

Since you won't be able to sign the petition - restricted only to UK citizens - perhaps you can still circulate the info and ask people to hold the vision of a vibrant healthy busy RLHH with lots of happy homeopathic patients in Queen's Square London.

Carol

Carol Boyce, MCH, CCH, RSHom (NA)
Director of Education
The Homeopathic Symposium
www.homeopathicsymposium.com
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[krystina hindley]

I recall being told that , here in Canada, one letter is worth the same as 100 names on a petition. Petitions are still good. Letters bear much more weight. Wait-it's coming to me...one letter =100 registered voters (much more important to the politician than just people), whereas petition= much less registered voters(so therefore, they don't really care what you think).
Thank-you for providing the information to make it easier for us to write letters.
Best Wishes,
Krystina

[Tanya Marquette]

you know the axiom: think globally, work locally!
this is another one of those issues that fits this idea.
i think the battle is a big one since it is related to the
wto and the codex alimentarius--even though the media
wont connect the dots for the public. but we can and should.
and we should be as loud as we can be.
tanya