GPs call for end to funding on NHS for Homeopathy
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 1:30 pm
Dear Homeopathic friends, please see below, taken from today's daily issue of the medical emagazine for doctors, 'Pulse'
Sue
http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/story.asp?s ... s_2_220210
MPs call for end to NHS funding of homeopathy
22 Feb 10
By Ian Quinn
An influential group of MPs has called on the Government to scrap the funding of homeopathy on the NHS.
The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee also claimed the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) should not allow homeopathic product labels to make medical claims without evidence of efficacy.
Homeopathic products are not medicines and so should no longer be licensed by the MHRA, it concluded.
The MPs' call follows an investigation to test if the Government's policies on homeopathy were based on sound evidence.
Chairman of the Committee Phil Willis MP said: `This was a challenging inquiry which provoked strong reactions. We were seeking to determine whether the Government's policies on homeopathy are evidence based on current evidence. They are not.'
`It sets an unfortunate precedent for the Department of Health to consider that the existence of a community which believes that homeopathy works is 'evidence' enough to continue spending public money on it. This also sends out a confused message, and has potentially harmful consequences. We await the Government's response to our report with interest.'
Sue
http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/story.asp?s ... s_2_220210
MPs call for end to NHS funding of homeopathy
22 Feb 10
By Ian Quinn
An influential group of MPs has called on the Government to scrap the funding of homeopathy on the NHS.
The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee also claimed the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) should not allow homeopathic product labels to make medical claims without evidence of efficacy.
Homeopathic products are not medicines and so should no longer be licensed by the MHRA, it concluded.
The MPs' call follows an investigation to test if the Government's policies on homeopathy were based on sound evidence.
Chairman of the Committee Phil Willis MP said: `This was a challenging inquiry which provoked strong reactions. We were seeking to determine whether the Government's policies on homeopathy are evidence based on current evidence. They are not.'
`It sets an unfortunate precedent for the Department of Health to consider that the existence of a community which believes that homeopathy works is 'evidence' enough to continue spending public money on it. This also sends out a confused message, and has potentially harmful consequences. We await the Government's response to our report with interest.'