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Welcome to the Belfast School of Homeopathy website.  The site is designed to be a practical tool for students, homeopaths and members of the public interested in homeopathy.  We aim to provide information, share ideas and discussions on all aspects homeopathic study, treatment and practice.

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  CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GRADUATES OF 2010!

 

 CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GRADUATES OF 2008/09!

- Support Homeopathy in the UK 

Help to preserve & promote homeopathy by signing the online petition at www.homeopathyworkedforme.org

- Fundraising Drama Night 

The Lurig Drama Group (Cushendall) Present

Melody

'When Mr Kane and Kathleen meet eating lunch on a park bench, they end up sharing more than just their sandwiches; together they learn to accept the blessings and face the challenges of love. This is a beautiful, funny and heart warming play sure to touch any audience'

Friday 11th June 10 in Conway Education Centre, Conway Street, Belfast
Admission: £5
Show: 7PM - 8PM (with refreshments after show)   
Phone: 028 90 248543 ask for Pauline

- Pilot Study Findings Released

The report favours complementary therapies on the NHS.  Download the full report HERE

- Letter to Minister of Health from NIAH

Independent Evaluation Report of the

Integrated Medicine Pilot Programme 2007-2008

 

We warmly welcome the publication of this Report.  We have appended a more detailed response, but in summary we can do no better than to quote the Report’s key recommendation: 

 

“Given the evidence of health gain documented by patients, GPs and CAM practitioners, it is recommended that DHSSPS and the project partners explore the potential for making CAM more widely available to patients across Northern Ireland. Not only has this project documented significant health gains for patients, but it has also highlighted the potential economic savings likely to accrue from a reduction in patient use of primary and other health care services, a reduction in prescribing levels and reduced absenteeism from work due to ill health.”

 

In view of this highly positive evaluation, we urge you now to act upon the recommendations contained in the Report, to make CAM therapies such as Homeopathy generally available to patients through the Health Service.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Kenneth Mayne RSHom

Chair

 

CC:	Members of the NI Assembly Health Committee Mr David Brownlow, Chair, Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health Dr Michael Dixon, Medical Director, Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health Ms Christine Jendoubi, Director of Primary Care, DHSSPSNI

 

 

 

 

 

Response to the Independent Evaluation Report

of the Northern Ireland Integrated Medicine Pilot Programme 2007-2008

 

 

We are pleased to note that the findings and the recommendations in the Report are entirely congruent with the recommendations made by the NIAH in the years prior to the announcement of the Pilot Programme.

 

Since 1999 we have briefed successive Ministers of Health and Department of Health officials that the provision of Complementary and Alternative Medical (CAM) therapies such as Homeopathy would produce benefits in:

 

·        reduction in drugs expenditure

·        alleviation of GP and hospital workload

·        savings to the community, industry and commerce in reduced sick leave

·        increased creativity and productivity

·        general well-being of society ^[1]

 

We also forecast that CAM therapies such as Homeopathy would make a significant contribution toward solving the intractable problems in Government healthcare priority areas such as:

 

·        health inequalities

·        deprived areas

·        effectiveness gaps in conventional medical treatments^[2]

 

As the Pilot Programme was a direct result of our representations to the Minister for Health, we are gratified to learn that the Report confirms that we delivered significant health gains and cost-efficiencies in all of the above circumstances.  The evaluation includes analyses across a range of indicators, all of which bear out the case we presented in our briefings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comparison of NIAH briefing points and reported findings

 

NIAH Briefing	Reported findings
Reduction in drugs expenditure	·        Half of GPs reported prescribing less medication and all reported that patients had indicated to them that they needed less ·        62% of patients reported suffering from less pain ·        55% reported using less painkillers following treatment ·        Patients using medication reduced from 75% before treatment to 61% after treatment ·        44% of those taking medication before treatment had reduced their use afterwards
Alleviation of GP and hospital doctor workload	·        24% of patients who used health services prior to treatment (i.e. primary and secondary care, accident and emergency) reported using the services less after treatment ·        65% of GPs reported seeing the patient less following the CAM referral ·        Half of GPs said the scheme had reduced their workload and 17% reported a financial saving for their practice ·        Half of GPs said their patients were using secondary care services less
Reduced sick leave …increased productivity …general wellbeing of society	·        “Not only has this project documented significant health gains for patients, but it has also highlighted the potential economic savings likely to accrue from a reduction in patient use of primary and other health care services, a reduction in prescribing levels and reduced absenteeism from work due to ill health.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although the commissioning of the Pilot has placed Northern Ireland ahead of the field in the move toward integrated medicine, the United Kingdom as a whole lags behind the rest of the world in making use of CAM as a healthcare resource.   Consumer interest in, and use of, complementary medicine is increasing globally.  According to the World Health Organization 65-80% of the world’s population use complementary therapies for primary health care^[3].

 

Table 1: Percentage of the population of 9 countries who used CAM during one year, as reported in the British Medical Journal in 2000[4]. The data is based on surveys of random or representative samples of population.

 

 

Patient choice and demand

 

“Choice matters because it is at the heart of the Government’s public service reform agenda to empower patients, reduce inequalities in access to health care and improve healthy outcomes for all patients.”^[5]

 

In 2000, nearly 20% of the UK population used CAM, spending more than £550m annually^[6].  By July 2007, Mintel reported that 49% of female UK residents had used complementary medicine (CAM). 40% of respondents to

Mintel’s survey said they don’t know enough about CAM. Spending on therapies in Britain had increased by 32% in 5 years.^[7] 

 

Developing Patient Partnerships, a national consumer organisation, conducted a survey in 2004, which showed that 71% of patients would like to discuss complementary medicine with their GP or pharmacist.^[8] Although they report that 70% of GPs have recommended CAM to their patients, Professor Kate Thomas shows that 90% of CAM treatments are paid for

privately^[9], even though 75% of the public would like to see access to complementary medicine on the NHS^[10]

 

 

Social Return On Investment

 

We welcome the depth of analysis in respect of social factors as a very significant element of the evaluation, often omitted from such studies.  This provides useful information relating to the problems of healthcare inequalities and the acknowledged effectiveness gaps in conventional medical treatment, especially of chronic conditions endemic in deprived areas.

 

We are confident that if the treatments provided in the Pilot Programme were subjected to full Social Return On Investment analysis, they would produce a high index of return compared to many conventional treatments in the same circumstances.

 

Conclusions and recommendations

 

The Pilot Programme was the first of its kind in these islands to be commissioned by a Minister of Health.  We congratulate the Minister for having implemented such an outstandingly successful project. 

 

At this moment Northern Ireland is seen as the leader in the field, and we request the Minister to maintain this leading position by further developing policy on Integrated Medicine.

 

Given the highly positive evidence of health gains and economic savings, and the high level of both GP approval and patient demand, we again request the Minister to make CAM therapies, including Homeopathic medicine, available to patients through the Health Service.

 

Contact

 

The Northern Ireland Association of Homeopaths

8 Grandmere Park

Bangor

BT20 5RF

029 9147 2502

kenmayne@supanet.com