2 July 2010
Calls for homeopathy ban
Homeopathic remedies should be banned from use in the NHS and not sold as medicines, doctors from the British Medical Association (BMA) have agreed this week.
At the annual BMA conference held in Brighton, three out of four doctors voted in favour of banning NHS funding of homeopathic remedies. They also agreed that financial support for the four homeopathic hospitals in the UK should be removed.
Homeopathic hospitals, such as the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, provide complementary therapies including homeopathy on the NHS. Doctors at the BMA conference also came to the decision that there should be no training posts for doctors within these hospitals.
Homeopathy is a type of complementary treatment for symptoms of illness using preparations called remedies. Homeopaths believe that the remedies stimulate your body's own healing powers. Homeopathy is based on the principle that 'like cures like', meaning that a substance that can cause a symptom may also be able to relieve it.
Homeopathic remedies are made from natural substances such as plants and minerals. However, the active ingredients in these remedies are highly diluted. In fact, they are often so diluted that the final remedy doesn't contain any of the original substance. Homeopaths claim that diluting a remedy in this way makes it more effective, but scientists argue that a medicine can't possibly work when the active ingredient has been diluted so much and effectively you're just being given water or sugar pills.
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Dr Katrina Herren, Medical Director for Bupa Health and Wellbeing |
In light of the doctors' vote at the BMA conference, we will be reviewing our position on homeopathy. 
Although some people do find homeopathic remedies helpful, there is no scientific evidence to prove that they work. Clinical trials have shown that homeopathy doesn't improve symptoms any more than a placebo (dummy treatment) for any condition studied, so at best homeopathic remedies only provide the placebo effect. The placebo effect is when you're given a remedy that has no effect but it appears to improve your symptoms. This happens mainly because you expect it to. The placebo effect is a useful tool and it's something that is widely used in medicine.
To make this clear to consumers, doctors from the BMA have suggested that homeopathic remedies should be labelled as 'placebos' rather than 'medicines' when they are being sold.
The British Homeopathic Association have opposed these decisions, arguing that not only does homeopathy help lots of people across the UK, but it does so in a cost-effective way.
Dr Katrina Herren, Medical Director for Bupa Health and Wellbeing said: "Bupa believes in the use of evidence-based medicine. However we understand there are many commonly used treatments that aren't evidence-based, including homeopathy. As long as these treatments aren't used to replace effective treatments prescribed by a doctor, they will do the person taking them no harm and some people may find them helpful.
"Currently at Bupa, some of our policies cover complementary therapies, including homeopathy. However, in light of the doctors' vote at the BMA conference, we will be reviewing our position on homeopathy."
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