NHS should not fund homoeopathy

Homoeopathy should not be funded by the NHS, and homeopathic "medicines" should not be allowed to make medical claims without evidence to back them, MPs have said.

In a report by the Commons Science and Technology Committee, MPs concluded that there was no evidence to show that homeopathic remedies worked other than by placebo effect.

A placebo effect happens when a patient reports feeling better because of their belief in a treatment, even if the treatment is no more than a sugar pill.

As the explanations of how homoeopathy worked were "scientifically implausible," and without scientific evidence to back them up, there was no justification for the cash-strapped NHS to fund clinical trials of homoeopathy, the report stated.

Homoeopathy is based on an idea that a substance which causes illness in a person can be diluted in water, and then used to treat the patient. The offending substance is supposed to leave a memory or imprint behind in the water. The more diluted the treatment, the more potent it is supposed to be.

Scientists say there is no evidence to support such an idea, and that it goes against the laws of physics and chemistry.

The 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 homoeopathy 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 homoeopathy works is 'evidence' enough to continue spending public money on it. This also sends out a confused message, and has potentially harmful consequences."

An estimated £4 million of the NHS budget is currently spent on homoeopathy. The UK has four homeopathic hospitals - in London, Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow. A fifth hospital in Tunbridge Wells closed last year after NHS funding for treatment was stopped.

This article was published on Tue 23 February 2010