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Call to end alternative therapies

Some of Britain's leading doctors have urged NHS trusts to reject the use of complementary medicines and to pay only for conventional treatments.

In a letter, reproduced in the Times, they raise concern the NHS is backing "unproven or disproved treatments".

The professor who organised the letter said it was appalling the NHS would fund "bogus" therapies when patients struggled to get drugs like Herceptin.

Prince is to make a speech in Geneva backing complementary therapies.

He will put forward the case for alternative medicine in the fight against serious disease, in a speech to the World Health Assembly.

'Implausible treatment'

The letter, on behalf of 13 people and sent to 476 acute and primary care trusts, is being seen as a direct challenge to the prince's campaign.

Organised by Baum, emeritus professor of surgery at University College London, the letter describes how he and fellow doctors believe alternative medicine is being promoted despite a lack of evidence and "at a time when the NHS is under intense pressure".

The public and the NHS are best served by using the available funds for treatments that are based on solid evidence

Letter reproduced in the Times

It criticises two initiatives - a government-funded guide on homeopathy for patients, and the Smallwood report, commissioned by Prince , which suggested greater access to complementary therapies in the NHS might lead to widespread benefits.

The letter describes homeopathy as an "an implausible treatment for which over a dozen systematic reviews have failed to produce convincing evidence of effectiveness".

The doctors say while "medical practice must remain open to new discoveries", it would "be highly irresponsible to embrace any medicine as though it were a matter of principle".

The letter continues: "The public and the NHS are best served by using the available funds for treatments that are based on solid evidence."

Signatories on the letter include Nobel Prize-winner Sir Black and Sir s, president of the Academy of Medical Science.

'Clear information'

Prince first advocated the use of complementary medicines more than 20 years ago.

He has since established the Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH), which encourages the development of complementary medicines and integrated healthcare.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said it was up to clinicians and trusts to decide on the best treatment for a patient.

"We know it is important that as more people turn to these therapies a solid evidence base is developed," she said.

"Patients rightly expect to have clear information about the range of treatments that are available to them, including complementary therapies."

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/5007118.stm

Published: 2006/05/23 02:57:00 GMT

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