Homoeopathy in the NHS: a holistic and interprofessional challenge

Abstract

Homoeopathy is one of the established ‘complernentay’ therapies that are now a fact of life in the UK health care system. Although much remains to be done by way of controlled trials to establish their efficacy, trial by jury—of many doctors and very many patients—has given judgment in favour of their value. But their practice is on the whole poorly regulated, and vey poorly integrated within the system, and many of their practitioners are loath to submit to the ‘medical imperialism’ that the system represents for them. The tensions between the conventional and complementay approaches are philosophical, scientific and organisational. They work to the detriment of the greater understanding of illness and healing that a closer integration would make possible, and certainly to the detriment of patients caught up in them. These tensions will only be resolved by a process of interprofessional dialogue and collaboration that is truly holistic in spirit and effect. Based on a workshop of doctor and non-doctor homoeopaths at Exeter University's Centre for Complementay Health Studies, this paper identifies the issues that must be addressed if that outcome is to be achieved.

Key Words:

• Holism
• complementay medicine
• homoeopathy
• integration
• professionalism
• health care