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HOMEOPATHY

Amendments

The Early day motion has received 2 amendments.

387A1

leave out from `House' to end and insert `welcomes the policy adopted by the British Medical Association (BMA) concurring with the conclusions of the Science and Technology Select Committee's Fourth Report of Session 2009-10, Evidence Check 2: Homeopathy, HC45, and opposing the funding of homeopathy on the NHS; recognises that the BMA decides its policies democratically, whereby any member can stand for election as a representative to its Annual Representative Meeting or to its Council; considers that a professional medical organisation is better placed to judge the evidence for the efficacy and the cost-effectiveness of a treatment, and the ethics of prescribing placebos based on a pseudo-scientific explanation of a non-existent mode of action, than the homeopathy industry itself; regrets that a small minority of doctors seek to use placebos in preference to appropriate reassurances of effective medicines; believes that the number of people who choose to use homeopathy or other non-evidence based approaches is a separate question from whether the NHS should spend scarce resources on such things; further believes that the existence of anecdotes and books, even hardback ones, that suggest that homeopathy is effective merely highlights the importance of differentiating, through techniques such as randomised controlled trials, between evidence and anecdote; notes that those who want to use homeopathic treatments are not prevented from accessing them through commercial outlets; and agrees with the Select Committee that putting patients through pointless further clinical trials, and the spending of scarce public sector funds on any more research into homeopathy, cannot be justified.'.

387A2

leave out from `House' to end and insert `rejects the findings of the Fourth Report of the Science and Technology Select Committee of Session 2009-10, Evidence Check 2: Homeopathy, HC45; regrets that the Committee took only oral evidence from a limited number of witnesses and did not call important witnesses in the homeopathic field who could have provided balance to the bias of the anti-homeopathy witnesses who were called to give evidence; expresses concern that the Report was produced with the endorsement of only three of the Committee Members; further regrets that the Report is being used by anti-homeopathy individuals and organisations as a reason for demanding the decommissioning of homeopathy services within the NHS, thereby restricting patient choice and having a negative effect on the health of thousands of patients who benefit from homeopathy each year; and calls on the Government to respond to this Report by rejecting its findings and maintaining its policy of allowing decision-making on individual clinical interventions, including homeopathy, to remain in the hands of local NHS service providers and practitioners who are best placed to know their community's needs'.

Secondary information

Type

Early day motion

Reference

387 

387A1 

387A2 

Session

2010-12

Other sponsors

Paul Flynn

Mike Hancock

Graham Stringer

Subjects

Health services

Link

View this Early day motion on www.parliament.uk