Make your voices heard on new NHS homeopathy consultation, members urged

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    [post_content] => A fresh consultation on prescription of homeopathy on the NHS has been launched in the South-West of England.

People in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire are being asked for their views on whether GPs should  be permitted to approve homeopathy services and treatments on the NHS for people who request them.

The move follows the national consultation by NHS England which proposed 'decommissioning' homeopathy from the list of accepted NHS services as part of a package of cost-saving measures. Homeopathy prescriptions nationally account for around £92,000 of the £9.2billion NHS annual budget, according to official estimates.

The new consultation for the three South-West clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), the bodies which oversee local health service planning, puts forward three options:

 	
no change to current policy
 	
reduce access to homeopathy - cut the number of appointments routinely funded or change the criteria so that fewer patients qualify for treatment,
 	
make NHS-funded homeopathy available in exceptional circumstances only

The NHS has guaranteed that patients currently receiving NHS-funded homeopathy services will be able to complete their treatment, irrespective of the outcome of the consultation.

Mark Taylor, Chief Executive of the Society of Homeopaths, urged members to respond to the latest consultation which includes online surveys, meetings, listening events and briefing meetings.

"We are contacting our members via our newsletter and other channels to highlight the latest NHS proposals for Bristol, North Somerset and Gloucestershire," he said. "It is very important that the voices of people who use homeopathy and also those who support the principles of choice within the NHS should press the case for homeopathy's continued inclusion on the list of treatments that GPs may authorise."

Members are also being encouraged to write to their MP and to their own CCG about their experience of homeopathy in the NHS, he added.

Details of the consultation and how to respond are available at the websites of the three CCGs at www.bristolccg.nhs.uk/get-involved, www.northsomersetccg.nhs.uk/get-involved and www.southgloucestershireccg.nhs.uk/get-involved

The Portland Centre for Integrative Medicine in Bristol, which houses the NHS Homeopathic Service, is also holding listening events. To join one, email enquiries@portlandcentrehealthcare.co.uk

The consultation closes on April 15. After that, the joint governing body of the three CCGs will consider the results and decide on the way forward.
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A fresh consultation on prescription of homeopathy on the NHS has been launched in the South-West of England.

People in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire are being asked for their views on whether GPs should  be permitted to approve homeopathy services and treatments on the NHS for people who request them.

The move follows the national consultation by NHS England which proposed ‘decommissioning’ homeopathy from the list of accepted NHS services as part of a package of cost-saving measures. Homeopathy prescriptions nationally account for around £92,000 of the £9.2billion NHS annual budget, according to official estimates.

The new consultation for the three South-West clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), the bodies which oversee local health service planning, puts forward three options:

• no change to current policy
• reduce access to homeopathy – cut the number of appointments routinely funded or change the criteria so that fewer patients qualify for treatment,
• make NHS-funded homeopathy available in exceptional circumstances only

The NHS has guaranteed that patients currently receiving NHS-funded homeopathy services will be able to complete their treatment, irrespective of the outcome of the consultation.

Mark Taylor, Chief Executive of the Society of Homeopaths, urged members to respond to the latest consultation which includes online surveys, meetings, listening events and briefing meetings.

“We are contacting our members via our newsletter and other channels to highlight the latest NHS proposals for Bristol, North Somerset and Gloucestershire,” he said. “It is very important that the voices of people who use homeopathy and also those who support the principles of choice within the NHS should press the case for homeopathy’s continued inclusion on the list of treatments that GPs may authorise.”

Members are also being encouraged to write to their MP and to their own CCG about their experience of homeopathy in the NHS, he added.

Details of the consultation and how to respond are available at the websites of the three CCGs at www.bristolccg.nhs.uk/get-involved, www.northsomersetccg.nhs.uk/get-involved and www.southgloucestershireccg.nhs.uk/get-involved

The Portland Centre for Integrative Medicine in Bristol, which houses the NHS Homeopathic Service, is also holding listening events. To join one, email enquiries@portlandcentrehealthcare.co.uk

The consultation closes on April 15. After that, the joint governing body of the three CCGs will consider the results and decide on the way forward.