# Bid to overturn homeopathy crackdown



## Northerner (May 2, 2018)

Campaigners are seeking to overturn a decision by NHS bosses to recommend GPs no longer prescribe homeopathy.

The British Homeopathic Association has won the right to have a judicial review of the move.

It was proposed last year by NHS England after a consultation, which the BHA is arguing was flawed.

Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, has described homeopathy as "at best a placebo and a misuse of scarce NHS funds".

At the High Court, Richard Clayton QC, who is representing the BHA, said the consultation, which ran ahead of the decision in November, had been overly complicated and failed to present both sides of the argument.

He said there was "ample" evidence that homeopathy worked but the consultation had been "completely one-sided".

He also said the consultation documents were too technical and not understandable to the "ordinary person".

NHS England rejects the accusations.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-43950865


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## mikeyB (May 2, 2018)

Is this a fight worth fighting? If prescriptions are costing the NHS £92000 a year, that’s pocket money. I have no truck with homeopathy, it’s on a level with witchcraft, but if people want to spend money on distilled water and sugar pills let ‘em. As long as it’s not NHS doctors and nurses being used in the clinics.


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## Ralph-YK (May 2, 2018)

Northerner said:


> Campaigners are seeking to overturn a decision by NHS bosses to recommend GPs no longer prescribe homeopathy.


This is about our GPs prescribing.  If it's worthless they it shouldn't be allowed in the NHS.


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## mikeyB (May 4, 2018)

GPs have long prescribed placebos. I’m not going to reveal the Latin code words that alert the pharmacist, mind.


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## Ralph-YK (May 4, 2018)

mikeyB said:


> GPs have long prescribed placebos. I’m not going to reveal the Latin code words that alert the pharmacist, mind.


There is an argument that placebos work.  Really we need to nhs to be sticking to medical things as much as possible.  Which means looking at outcomes.


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## robert@fm (May 4, 2018)

mikeyB said:


> GPs have long prescribed placebos. I’m not going to reveal the Latin code words that alert the pharmacist, mind.


Adamus cum Flabello Dulci?


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## Drummer (May 4, 2018)

I was so miserable with hay fever that I tried a homeopathic remedy - I did not believe that it would work - it was impossible that it could have any effect at all - just pure illogical thinking no chance of any benefit.

Not had hay fever since though.


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## Ralph-YK (May 4, 2018)

Drummer said:


> Not had hay fever since though.


Hmmmm  How many tried it and still had a fever?  How about the hundreds who didn't and have not had a fever since either?


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## rustee2011 (Dec 21, 2018)

Hmmm, interesting, But according to what I have read the Queen has a homeopath. So there must be something in it methinks


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## KARNAK (Dec 21, 2018)

rustee2011 said:


> Hmmm, interesting, But according to what I have read the Queen has a homeopath. So there must be something in it methinks



I think you`ll find that a psychopath the rest is Bollocks.


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## Madeline (Dec 21, 2018)

Maybe they could all ship out and deal with the current Ebola crisis. They kept quite last one too.


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## rustee2011 (Dec 21, 2018)

Hahaha - all you skeptics


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## Eddy Edson (Dec 22, 2018)

My great-great-grandfather (<== this guy) was a locally well-known homeopath. 

In those days, I like to think, it was often better for the patient than the bleeding, purging, head-shaving, hot iron-branding, sheep fat injecting etc etc of main-line medicine.

But not for long & these days it's just quackery.


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## Pumper_Sue (Dec 22, 2018)

I used homeopathic treatment for my Welsh cob stallion many years ago and it saved his life as conventional medicine did not help and the vets said the only option was a bullet. He lived for many years after he was treated.


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## Andy HB (Dec 25, 2018)

Homeopathy is complete bunk. Nothing other than a successful double blind trial will ever convince me otherwise. Strange, that whenever it is properly tested, it behaves no better than placebo.

I loved the demonstration by James Randy to highlight this. At the start of his talk he downed a whole pot of pills. Then a bit later mentioned that they were homeopathic sleeping pills and the instructions suggested that he see a doctor if an overdose was taken! Unsurprisingly, he didn't feel sleepy at all!


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## robert@fm (Dec 25, 2018)

Surely, the only way to overdose on homoeopathic meds is to take _less _than you're supposed to?


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## Eddy Edson (Dec 25, 2018)

robert@fm said:


> Surely, the only way to overdose on homoeopathic meds is to take _less _than you're supposed to?



Or dilute them a zillion times & then just look at them?


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## Madeline (Dec 26, 2018)

If it really worked we’d all be on the Pill and multiple antibiotics.


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## HOBIE (Dec 26, 2018)

Placebos. I did a research over a couple of days at Newcastle uni & we proved that the 3 groups where all the same on TV. ! group on the real stuff, ! group on placebo, & last group on powder. Magic ?


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## Madeline (Dec 26, 2018)

Did you see the programme about placebo painkillers recently? Fascinating.


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## mikeyB (Dec 27, 2018)

Question. 
How do you  do a placebo controlled trial with homeopathy pills? 

Well, they have been done, and guess what. No difference.

A trial involving homeopathy pills with standard medical treatment probably wouldn’t get past an ethics committee if the condition could theoretically worsen without treatment.


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