No ban on homeopathy NHS funding, Government says
The Government will not ban homeopathy on the NHS, despite a House of Commons report that found no credible evidence of the therapy’s efficacy.
The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee’s evidence check into homeopathy, published in February, had called for the NHS to stop funding homeopathy and the MHRA to cease licensing homeopathic products.
However, it its response to the report published this week, the Government said that while it agrees “with many of the committee’s conclusions and recommendations,” it would not ban the therapy.
“Our continued position on the use of homeopathy within the NHS is that the local NHS and clinicians, rather than Whitehall, are best placed to make decisions on what treatment is appropriate for their patients,” the response adds.
A survey of 119 pharmacists conducted by C+D in February found 71 per cent of respondents felt the NHS should not pay for homeopathic remedies.