Homeopathy: Medicine for the 21st Century

 

24 February 2010

Dear Prime Minister

 

This letter and the accompanying signatures come at a critical time. Only two days ago the Commons Science and Technology Committee demonstrated that there will be no fair or scientific hearing for homeopathy if those who have objective experience of its success remain silent. From its outset, H:MC21 has recognised this fact and sought to provide a voice for the science of homeopathy, and for the practitioners and patients who know its value.

 

In the name of all those who have signed the declaration 'Homeopathy Worked for Me', we urge the government to recognise that millions of people in the UK alone use homeopathy, and that they are a tiny fraction of the number of people globally who use it.

 

These people have chosen to use homeopathy for the same reasons that led to its inclusion in the National Health Service 60 years ago: because it is a system of treatment which is scientific, effective, safe and without side effects.[1] In the current financial climate it is also a significant point that homeopathy can save the NHS money if it is properly integrated into the healthcare system.

 

This declaration was launched in the autumn of 2007 in response to a rising tide of attacks on homeopathy. These attacks were organised by a small group with good connections to the media, and we believed that their central intent was to force homeopathy out of the NHS by appealing to decision-makers behind the backs of the public. This view was confirmed by the written submission of Sense About Science to the Commons Science and Technology Committee in 2009,[2] and the report of that committee has shown how powerful the grip of these propagandists has become.[3]

 

Over the last two years H:MC21 has been exposing the weakness of the arguments being used against homeopathy and the hypocrisy of those using them.[4,5,6] H:MC21 has also started to expose an apparent failure of the NHS Primary Care Trusts to check the competence of their decision-makers when it comes to homeopathy.[7] Most importantly, H:MC21 has sought to give a public voice to all those who use homeopathy, whether as practitioners or as patients, whether occasionally or regularly.

 

When 25% of the NHS spending on prescribed drugs is used to deal with the effects of those drugs, there is an urgent need to consider the alternatives, and homeopathy has a long and outstanding record of success in clinical practice. We believe that this is the time to explore further the alternative of homeopathy, rather than to close the door on its possibilities.

 

We urge the government

• To reject the report of the Commons Science and Technology Committee on the grounds that it is profoundly flawed and shows strong evidence of prejudice.

• To provide a substantial re-directing of  NHS research funding, so that the use of homeopathy in the NHS can be properly assessed as regards both its clinical and cost effectiveness.

• To instruct Primary Care Trusts that homeopathy forms part of the NHS provision of healthcare, and that it should not be a victim of cuts simply because decision-makers are not qualified to judge its principles and practice.

 

We ask your government to recognise that this declaration is the voice of nearly 28,000 people who represent some 10% of the electorate. It is a call to the government to listen not to those who have abused their access to the media, but to those who have experience of successful treatment with homeopathy, those who proudly declare: Homeopathy Works for Me!

 

Yours faithfully

 

Ursula Kraus-Harper (Chair)

William Alderson (Secretary)

Jacqueline Mulhallen (Treasurer)

and nearly 28,000 people who have stated that “Homeopathy worked for me”.

 

References

1. See the ‘Why it works’ and ‘Orthodox medicine’ sections and the ‘Homeopathic firsts’ page on www.hmc21.org.

2. William Alderson, Report on Selected Evidence to the Commons Science and Technology Committee (Stoke Ferry: Homeopathy: Medicine for the 21st Century, 2009), p. 7, available at .

3. William Alderson, Critique of the Commons Science and Technology Committee’s ‘Evidence Check 2: Homeopathy’ (Stoke Ferry: Homeopathy: Medicine for the 21st Century, 2010), available at .

4. William Alderson, Halloween Science; The Truth about Trick or Treatment? by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst (Stoke Ferry: Homeopathy: Medicine for the 21st Century, 2009), available at .

5. William Alderson, 1023 – An Overdose of Nonsense (Stoke Ferry: Homeopathy: Medicine for the 21st Century, 2010), available at .

6. William Alderson, On Homeopathy and Evidence; Submission to the Science and Technology Committee (Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee) (Stoke Ferry: Homeopathy: Medicine for the 21st Century, 2009), available at .

7. William Alderson, Report  of a Pilot Survey of PCTs and Their Provision of Homeopathy  (Stoke Ferry: Homeopathy: Medicine for the 21st Century, 2009), available at .

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