Bath and North East Somerset council is withdrawing its funding for GP patient referrals to Bristol Homeopathic Hospital. Although they did this illegally without producing a public consultation document, for the hospital, losing half of its funding in this way means that it will not be able to continue. The doctors are not allowed to make any comments or lobby for their own service but patients and the Friends of the hospital certainly can do. The proposed Health Care Reforms could affect patient access to homeopathic treatment on the NHS and this will have further reaching effects than just the south-west. All health services are going through a major change under current health reforms and we need to ensure that homeopathy provision remains integrated into the new health care funding.

Anyone with the time and inclination to contact the PCT in Bath and North East Somerset by letter or email or phone call is asked to highlight the following points:

1) We want to have the option of referral to Bristol Homeopathic Hospital for treatment. This applies to everyone wherever you live  – because after the health care reforms all areas can commission the service.

2) Providing homeopathic treatment :
* produces positive patient outcomes clinically
* has a high level of patient satisfaction – which is this particular government’s criteria when they promise patient choice
* and is very cost effective as it relieves spending in other areas particularly long term medications in chronic conditions.

You can also write to your Conservative and LibDem MPs, to make sure that they know that patients favour this service, as homeopathic treatment has a very positive outcome in terms of patient satisfaction. The MPs pass this to the Health Minister.

Many thanks.

The inspiration for this article comes from our current economic climate and its consequences. As homeopaths we are keenly aware of the relationship between physical symptoms and mental state. As we cope with an era of economic stress, themes emerge that are relevant to our patients. We hear tales of woe in the media speculating about what will happen next in In the global economic crisis. Many have been forced to think about living day to day and how to put food on the table. People have been forced into jobs they don’t want, but can’t live without. Families have to decide who stays home and who goes to work.

Many have lost jobs and the ones who are left are taking up the slack for the people that are gone. There is more bullying in the workplace, employees being made to feel like they’re lucky to have a job. People feel like failures because they haven’t been able to keep their jobs.

Will it end in the foreseeable future? Are there solutions? Or is this an existential crisis of sorts? These questions are the ones we seek to answer and homeopathy can help!

Depression is a huge theme as is the helplessness that goes with it. Emotional shock and shame are mixed into the pictures that we see in our practices. Here are some themes and related remedies that are emerging in practice.

Continue reading Homeopathy for Stress →

Research recently published in the European Journal of Integrative Medicine (using data from the ISTAT survey on “Health status of the population and use of health services” (2004–2005): sample size 104,000, 18+ adults) show that around 15% of Italian adults have been treated with a CAM therapy (in last 3 years).

The most popular therapies used in Italy were some type of ‘manipulation’ therapy and homeopathy (around a half of these users had used either one, or both).

Just under 25% of these people had used herbal medicine and around 15% had used acupuncture.

The research showed that CAM usage was more frequent among highly educated and upper-middle class people, women, middle-aged people – and in Northern Italy. It was found that people with chronic diseases used CAM more frequently.

Most CAM users reported complete satisfaction with their treatments.

Complete satisfaction ratings were: acupuncture (61%); herbal medicine (69%); homeopathy (71%); manual treatments(78%).

There were also “high satisfaction” ratings from individuals with chronic conditions.

The strongest determinants of ‘complete satisfaction’ with their CAM treatments were found amongst those who “refused to combine conventional medicine and CAM”.

In an article published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, a group of Indian researchers have reported on their study on the successful use of homeopathy in the management of various symptoms encountered during the menopause.

They undertook an observational study over a 1 year period which centred on assessing 15 predefined symptoms of menopause.

They found that homeopathy was useful in relieving hot flushes, night sweats, anxiety, palpitation, depression and insomnia.

Swedish court rules: ‘Doctors can recommend homeopathy’. See original article here.

The Supreme Administrative Court has recently ruled that Swedish doctors can openly recommend homeopathy to their patients. Until recently homeopathy had not been accepted by the Swedish health authorities as an official therapeutic approach, and doctors in Sweden were not allowed to prescribe homeopathic medicines.

The court case began several years ago when a medical doctor, who was trained in homeopathy in the UK and used this therapy in his practice, was put on probation by the Medical Responsibility Board (Hälso- och Sjukvårdens AnsvarsNämnd – HSAN). The doctor appealed the decision on the grounds that he just used homeopathy when the patient requested it and only when conventional treatment had turned out to be ineffective. After being sentenced in two lower courts, he was forbidden to use homeopathy. The verdict claimed that homeopathy is unscientific, thus ignoring the growing evidence base of the effectiveness of homeopathy.

Just recently, after years of discrimination against him and his patients, his case came at last to the highest court. This court decided that patients were not exposed to any danger and the doctor had used scientific knowledge when it was necessary.

The implications of this decision are that from now on qualified medical personnel are allowed to use homeopathy. The verdict has already led to much publicity in Sweden and a rapidly increasing interest in homeopathy and other complementary therapies.