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Regulation for Energy
Healers
This page is one of a series of posting
to give standing information on the current position regarding Regulation for
people working as energy healers in the
Please visit the Regulation section of
the Information Centre for an introductory briefing and subsequent articles
about Regulation.
Date of posting: 30th March
2007
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee Report
In November
2000, the Science and Technology Committee of the House of Lords published a
report into its findings into the Complementary Alternative Medicine (
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199900/ldselect/ldsctech/123/12301.htm
At the end of this page I have reproduced the
recommendations of the Report together with the response from the Government.
It is worth taking the time to read through this document if you have not seen
it before. The recommendations of the Report are shown in blue and the
Government’s response is shown in black. Although not the most recent of
documents, it has not been superceded by any other
inquiries or investigations and represents therefore the current position of
the Government which has the responsibility for establishing the legal framework
within which we operate. It covers all
CAM therapies, not just energy healing, and is an important historical document
because it represents the starting point for CAM therapies to gain their
appropriate places in mainstream healthcare in the
Reproduction
is under the terms of Crown
Copyright Policy Guidance issued by HMSO (Her Majesty’s Stationery
Office). Copyright is owned by the Crown
and information on reproduction rights may be found on the HMSO website at
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/advice/crown-copyright/copyright-guidance/reproduction-of-legislation.htm
.
Key issues arising for the energy healing sector are
the quality of training, the development of a system of Self Regulation and the
need for research to be undertaken into the results of the application of
healing energies to the same medical research standards as more conventional
medical treatments.
The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health
HRH Prince Charles is well known for
his interest in holistic ways of living and healthcare and for his philosophy
that we should try to develop sense of community and to live in more harmonious
ways with the natural environment. His work in these areas is represented by a
group of charities of which he is President and which are known collectively as
the Prince’s Charities. Please go to http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/personalprofiles/theprinceofwales/atwork/theprincescharities//index.html
to view these.
One of the Prince’s charities that is relevant
to the work of energy healers is the Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH)
which can be found at www.fih.org.uk. One
of the objectives of the Foundation is to promote the use of complementary
therapies alongside conventional healthcare methods where appropriate.
Subsequent to the House of Lords publishing
its findings and recommending self regulation within the healing energies
sector, FIH was awarded funding of 900,000 UK Pounds by the Department of
Health to undertake a three year project to identify the best way forward for
self regulation for different alternative therapies. The project is now
entering its third and final year. Part of the Department of Health funding has
been used to support the Reiki Regulatory Working Group at http://www.reikiregulation.org.uk/
The Reiki Regulatory Working Group
The work of
the Reiki Regulatory Group is outlined in its website together with minutes of
all meetings which may be downloaded.
Key highlights to date are the undertaking of a consultative process to
discuss possible options for self regulation and to arrive at a preferred
solution for self regulation. The overall objective is to establish a
regulatory structure by the summer of 2008. The RRWG does not appear to issue
newsletters and the only way to keep up to date with its work is to visit its
website from time to time.
The Impact of Self Regulation
It will not
be mandatory for energy healers to participate in any Self Regulation regime
and they will be free to operate outside it. It should be noted, however, that
with energy healing started to become an acceptable therapy on the fringes of
the National Health Service, it is unlikely that therapists will be able to
work in any publicly funded organisation unless they are accredited as meeting
minimum standards as either established by the self regulatory organisation or
by the publicly funded organisation. Additionally, energy healers might find
themselves at a competitive disadvantage in the market place if they are not
accredited as some students may prefer to find accredited teachers.
The Report Recommendations and the Government Response
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO THE HOUSE OF LORDS SELECT
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY'S
COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for
Health
By command of Her Majesty
March 2001
INTRODUCTION
This Report publishes the results of the first ever
comprehensive Inquiry into Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in the
There has been increased public interest in and use
of
The Committee’s Report articulates the changes that
are needed. The Government welcomes the Report, and believes its main
recommendations will help protect the interests of patients and other
consumers. If taken seriously by both orthodox and complementary medicine, the
Report could also bring significant benefits to medicine as a whole.
This document reproduces each of the Report’s
recommendations in turn, and provides the Government’s response to them.
GROUPING
OF THERAPIES
1. The Report
began by organising therapies into three separate
groups. These were described as follows:
The first group embraces what may be called the principal disciplines,
two of which, osteopathy and chiropractic, are already regulated in their
professional activity and education by Acts of Parliament. The others are acupuncture,
herbal medicine and homeopathy. Each of these therapies claims to have an
individual diagnostic approach and are seen as the
'Big 5' by most of the
The second group contains therapies
which are most often used to complement conventional medicine and do not
purport to embrace diagnostic skills. It includes aromatherapy; the Alexander
Technique; body work therapies, including massage; counselling,
stress therapy; hypnotherapy; reflexology and probably shiatsu, meditation and
healing.
The third group embraces those other
disciplines which purport to offer diagnostic information as well as treatment
and which, in general, favour a philosophical
approach and are indifferent to the scientific principles of conventional medicine,
and through which various and disparate frameworks of disease causation and its
management are proposed. These therapies can be split into two sub-groups:
Group 3a includes long established and traditional systems of healthcare such
as Ayurvedic medicine and Traditional Chinese
medicine. Group 3b covers other alternative disciplines which lack any credible
evidence base such as crystal therapy, iridology, radionics,
dowsing and kinesiology.
The Government believes that, in general, patients,
consumers and healthcare practitioners will find it helpful, at least for the
time being, to differentiate between therapies in the way the Report proposes.
It could help identify approximately the stage various therapies have reached
in their professional organisation, the roles they may be able to play in
healthcare generally, and what is known of the relative risks involved in their
practice.
However the Government accepts that the categorisation is necessarily broad in nature, and it need
not imply that all therapies in each category have identical features.
In some circumstances there may also be scope for
some therapies to be allied for a specific purpose across the boundaries of the
proposed groupings. For example the Government considers that, for the purposes
of professional self-regulation, those aspects of the traditional therapies
listed in Group 3a which include the use of herbal remedies could come together
within a federal grouping of therapies in Group 1 under the general heading of
herbal medicine, while still retaining their individual identities and
traditions. It may also be possible to bring within Group 1 those aspects of
traditional therapies which practise acupuncture.
Under the general headings of herbal medicine and acupuncture, there would therefore
be scope to protect the public by affording statutory recognition to large
parts of these more traditional therapies (See also Recommendation 8).
Introduction
(Chapter 1)
2. More detailed quantitative information
is required on the levels of CAM use in the United Kingdom, in order to inform
the public and healthcare policy-makers, and we recommend that suitable
national studies be commissioned to obtain this information (para 1.21).
The Government accepts that more knowledge of the
extent to which various CAM therapies are used in the UK, and the reasons why
people use them is desirable although perhaps not strictly essential. For
practical reasons, any national survey would inevitably be limited to a sample
of the population. The Government has decided to test the issue from several
different perspectives. The Department of Health has commissioned the
Foundation for Integrated Medicine to conduct an assessment of existing reports
on consumer preferences in
Evidence
(Chapter 4)
3. Diagnostic procedures must be reliable
and reproducible and more attention must be paid to whether CAM diagnostic
procedures, as well as CAM therapies, have been scientifically validated. We
agree that this is an issue that should always be kept in mind when doing
research in this area (para 4.16).
The Government recognises
that
The NHS Research and Development Health Technology
Assessment Programme has a Diagnostic Technologies
and Imaging Panel which prioritises research in this
area. The programme has prioritised
and commissioned CAM research in the past and could consider
4. In our opinion any therapy that makes
specific claims for being able to treat specific conditions should have
evidence of being able to do this above and beyond the placebo effect. This is
especially true for therapies which aim to be available on the NHS and aim to
operate as an alternative to conventional medicine, specifically therapies in
Group 1. The therapies in our Groups 3a and b also aim to operate as an alternative
to conventional medicine, and have sparse, or
non-existent, evidence bases. Those therapies in our Group 2 which aim to
operate as an adjunct to conventional medicine, and mainly make claims in the
area of relaxation and stress management, are in lesser need of proof of
treatment-specific effects but should control their claims according to the
evidence available to them (para 4.18).
The Government agrees with the need for strong
evidence beyond the placebo effect to support the use of any complementary
therapy in Groups 1 and 3 on the NHS. The test proposed – i.e. that any
treatment that makes specific claims should have evidence of benefit above and
beyond the placebo effect – is a tough one. However this is the right standard
to set for therapies in Groups 1 and 3, especially as the report goes on to
accept that therapies which are mainly about relaxation and stress management
and make only limited claims, need not satisfy this particular test. NICE will
obviously comment on the type and quality of the evidence available in cases
which come before it.
The Government understands that traditional herbal
medicine systems from outside the western tradition can be supported by very
substantial bodies of research data but that in many cases the studies
purporting to demonstrate efficacy have not so far been replicated under the
rigorous conditions that would be required in order to gain wide credence in
orthodox western medicine. The Government expects
5. We recommend that if a therapy does
gain a critical mass of evidence to support its efficacy, then the NHS and the
medical profession should ensure that the public have access to it and its
potential benefits (para 4.37).
As already mentioned, the Government agrees with the
need for strong evidence beyond the placebo effect to support the use of
therapies on the NHS. However in the final analysis it must be for the NHS
clinician or healthcare practitioner with lead clinical responsibility for the
individual patient to judge whether, when and how an individual patient could
benefit from the use of a particular therapy. Wherever possible the patient
should be actively involved in this process and in any agreed plan for his or
her treatment or therapy. (See also the response to recommendations 43 and 44).
The National Electronic Library for Health and NHS
Direct Online will in due course make evidence concerning CAM therapies as
widely available as possible to clinicians and managers, patients and the
public, carers, patient representatives and
advocates. The Government will also continue to be open
to opportunities for NICE to evaluate individual
Regulation
(Chapter 5)
6. We recommend that, in order to protect
the public, professions with more than one regulatory body make a concerted
effort to bring their various bodies together and to develop a clear
professional structure (para 5.12).
7. We recommend that each of the
therapies in Group 2 should organize themselves under a single professional
body for each therapy. These bodies should be well promoted so that the public
who access these therapies are aware of them. Each should comply with core
professional principles, and relevant information about each body should be
made known to medical
practitioners and other healthcare professionals. Patients could then have a
single, reliable point of reference for standards, and would be protected
against the risk of poorly-trained practitioners and have redress for poor
service (para 5.23).
The Government believes professional self-regulation
works best when it operates as an open and transparent partnership between the
profession, patients and the wider public. These stakeholders clearly deserve
better than the current fragmented regulation of certain
8. It is our opinion that acupuncture and
herbal medicine are the two therapies which are at a stage where it would be of
benefit to them and their patients if the practitioners strive for statutory
regulation under the Health Act 1999, and we recommend
that they should do so. Statutory regulation may also be appropriate eventually
for the non-medical homeopaths. Other professions must strive to come together
under one voluntary self-regulating body with the appropriate features outlined
in Box 5, and some may wish ultimately to aim to move towards regulation under
the Health Act once they are unified with a single voice (paras
5.53 and 5.55).
The Government accepts that, at this point in their
development, and bearing in mind certain public health risks, it would be
desirable to bring both acupuncture and herbal medicine within a statutory
framework as soon as practicable. The Government has held preliminary
discussions with organisations representing each
therapy.
The Government is prepared to consider the
possibility of extending statutory regulation for other therapies if there is a
case for it, and there is a unified professional body which has the support of
most members of its profession for pursuing that option. Representatives of the
aromatherapy profession have already expressed an interest in statutory
regulation, and others may wish to do so.
As the Report concludes, therapies outside Group 1
are likely to function in a different way. The case for statutory regulation of
those therapies may be therefore harder to establish and may follow a different
course.
Before inviting Parliament to exercise the powers of
the Health Act 1999 to recognise any
9. We recommend that each existing
regulatory body in the healthcare professions should develop clear guidelines
on competency and training for their members on the position they take in
relation to their members' activities in well organised
CAM disciplines; as well as guidelines on appropriate training courses and
other relevant issues. In drawing up such guidelines the conventional
regulatory bodies should communicate with the relevant complementary regulatory
bodies and the Foundation for Integrated Medicine to obtain advice on training
and best practice and to encourage integrated practice (para
5.79).
The Government agrees that each statutory regulatory
body in the conventional healthcare professions which make significant use of
CAM therapies should develop clear guidelines for its members on both the
competences and training required for the safe and effective practice of the
leading CAM therapies, in consultation with the relevant CAM regulatory bodies
and the Foundation for Integrated Medicine.
10. We encourage the bodies representing
medical and non-medical CAM therapists, particularly those in our Groups 1 and
2, to collaborate more closely, especially on developing reliable public
information sources. We recommend that if CAM is to be practised
by any conventional healthcare practitioners, they should be trained to
standards comparable to those set out for that particular therapy by the
appropriate (single) CAM regulatory body (para 5.83).
The Government also wishes to encourage all bodies
which represent practitioners who provide one or more of the CAM therapies in
Groups 1 and 2 to work together to develop reliable public information which
conforms to the quality standards publicised by the
National Electronic Library for Health and NHS Direct Online. NHS Direct Online
and the National Electronic Library for Health will, over time and where
authoritative research is available, include information on
The Government supports the training of conventional
healthcare practitioners to standards agreed with the appropriate
11. We recommend that the MCA find a
mechanism that would allow members of the public to identify health products
that had met the stringent requirements of licensing and to differentiate them
from unregulated competitors. This should be accompanied by strong enforcement
of the law in regard to products that might additionally confuse the customer
with claims and labelling that resemble those
permitted by marketing authorizations (para 5.93).
The Government agrees that it is desirable that the
public should have clear information on the regulatory status of products. For
all medicines which are the subject of a marketing authorisation
it is a legal requirement under European law that the product licence number is
stated on the labelling. In European discussions about
the proposed directive on traditional medicinal products, the Medicines Control
Agency has advocated that there should be a requirement for consumers to be
given explicit information about the significance of a registration under the
proposed directive. As currently envisaged this may take the form of a label
marking. The Government will continue to pursue these issues within
12. We strongly recommend that the
Government should maintain their effective advocacy of a new regulatory
framework for herbal medicines in the United Kingdom and the rest of the European
Union, and urge all parties to ensure that new regulations adequately reflect
the complexities of the unregulated sector (para
5.95).
The Government welcomes the recognition of its work
to advocate the case for an improved European regulatory framework for safe,
traditional herbal remedies. The European Commission recently circulated to
member states a preliminary draft of a directive on traditional medicinal
products. The Medicines Control Agency, as a priority, will continue to
participate actively and constructively in continuing development work on this
issue at both European and domestic level with a view to putting in place a
national scheme for these remedies within a secure European legislative
framework.
The Government takes the view that any single
legislative or other measure is unlikely to address the full range of issues
and problems presented by the unregulated sector. However, an effective
directive on traditional medicinal products would represent a major step
forward.
13. We are concerned about the safety
implications of an unregulated herbal sector and we urge that all legislative
avenues be explored to ensure better control of this unregulated sector in the
interests of the public health (para .97). The
wide range of herbal products on the market span a
number of regulatory categories including foods and cosmetics as well as
medicines.
The Government accepts that for products classified
as medicines there is a weakness in the regulatory arrangement for unlicensed
herbal remedies provided for under Section 12(2) of the Medicines Act 1968. The
best prospects for resolving this problem lie with the introduction of a
national scheme within the framework of the proposed European directive on
traditional medicinal products. Potentially, this could provide a legally
secure regime effectively balancing consumer choice and public safety. The
Government is currently encouraged by progress on the directive but will keep
the position under review and in the event that this initiative founders will
consider what alternative approaches may be available.
The Government’s view is that in principle the cover
of a European directive would be necessary in order to replace the provisions
of Section 12(2) with systematic regulatory arrangements within medicines law.
The Government welcomes the Committee’s support for the position that herbal
medicines should be regulated under medicines law rather than in a less
regulated environment.
The MCA is consulting on proposals to make permanent
the prohibition in unlicensed medicines of the toxic ingredient Aristolochia and of other herbal ingredients at
risk of confusion with Aristolochia. The
Government will take any further action necessary to protect the public from
specific health risks of this kind. In addition, to promote an understanding
of, and compliance with, the current medicines law relating to unlicensed
medicines the MCA has established an information base (Traditional ethnic
medicines, public health and compliance with medicines law) on its website.
14. We support the view that any new
regulatory regime should respect the diversity of products used by herbal
practitioners and allow for simplified registration of practitioner stocks.
Nevertheless, any such regime must ensure that levels of quality and assurance
of safety are not compromised (para 5.98).
The Government agrees that future regulatory
arrangements relating to the ingredients and products used by individual herbal
practitioners should safeguard quality and safety standards while recognizing
the diversity of practice. We aim to clarify and if necessary improve
regulatory arrangements covering the varied situations which can arise, ranging
from the practitioner using crude or partially processed herbal ingredients to
make up individual remedies to the situation where the herbalist buys in mass
produced finished products. Regulatory arrangements should in particular
reflect the extent to which the practitioner is in a position to take personal
responsibility for the safety and quality of the remedy supplied to the
consumer.
The Government will hold discussions with herbal
interest groups to consider the way forward. In the light of this we will
consider whether any changes in domestic legislation would be required in order
to reach a satisfactory regulatory position and the extent to which
requirements for responsible good practice attaching to the herbalist
profession could play a greater role in ensuring the
safety and
quality of materials practitioners use.
Professional
Training and Education (Chapter 6)
15. Establishing an independent
accreditation board along the lines of the British Acupuncture Accreditation
Board is a positive move. Other therapies with fragmented professional
representation may wish to use this as a model (para
6.20).
The Government agrees that the use of accreditation
boards can be an effective way of bringing together representatives of
fragmented professions to establish robust common standards of education for
their profession. Where several regulatory
bodies are
involved, it will be important to ensure that any accreditation board is
completely independent of the institutions being accredited and is part of a
move towards regulation of that therapy by a single body.
16. We recommend that
(para 6.33).
17. We suggest that the CAM therapies,
particularly those in our Groups 1 and 2, should identify Continuing
Professional Development in practice as a core requirement for their members (para 6.34).
The Government considers that all qualifications in
CAM should be assessed by the regulatory body which grants the licence to practise the
The Government would like all
18. We consider that it is imperative that
higher educational institutions and any regulatory bodies in
The Government supports this recommendation.
19. We recommend that training in anatomy,
physiology and basic biochemistry and pharmacology should be included within
the education of practitioners of therapies that are likely to offer diagnostic
information, such as the therapies in Groups 1 and 3a. (para 6.43).
20. We recommend that every therapist
working in
21. We recommend that all
22. We recommend that all CAM therapists
should be made aware of the other
The Government supports these recommendations. It is
Government policy to encourage the inclusion of certain core elements in every
vocational qualification, and this feature is being developed for health
professional programmes in the NHS Plan. The above recommendations would apply
that general principle to
It is a basic function of all healthcare regulatory
bodies to concern themselves with the competence of those who practise their profession. This will mean defining
standards of competent practice and encouraging all providers of education and
training in
23. We conclude that there should be
flexibility for training institutions to decide how to educate practitioners.
It is the relevant professional regulatory body of a specific
24. We recommend that, whether subject to
statutory or voluntary regulation, all healthcare regulatory bodies should
consider the relevance to their respective professions of those elements set
out in paragraph 6.55 (para 6.62).
The Government concurs with these recommendations.
25. We recommend that therapies with a
fragmented professional organization work with Healthwork
UK to develop National Occupational Standards, and we encourage the Department
of Health to further support Healthwork UK's activity
with such therapies; we believe that this would be of long-term benefit to the
public (para 6.70).
The Government welcomes the work that Healthwork
A strong health sector National Training Organisation
is important in delivering the Government’s modernisation
agenda. In the light of the NHS Plan, the Government is working with Healthwork
26. We recommend that familiarisation
should prepare medical students for dealing with patients who are either
accessing
27. We recommend that every medical school
ensures that all their medical undergraduates are exposed to a level of
28. We recommend that Royal Colleges and
other training authorities in the healthcare field should address the issue of familiarisation with CAM therapies among doctors, dentists
and veterinary surgeons by supporting appropriate Continuing Professional
Development opportunities (para 6.85).
30. We recommend that the UKCC work with
the Royal College of Nursing to make CAM familiarisation
a part of the undergraduate nursing curriculum and a standard competency
expected of qualified nurses, so that they are aware of the choices that their
patients may make. We would also expect nurses specialising
in areas where CAM is especially relevant (such as palliative care) to be made
aware of any
A later section of the Report makes recommendations
about the provision of information on
information available
on the safety and efficacy of
However the Government believes that courses which
aim to give healthcare practitioners some familiarisation
in
29. The General Osteopathic and
Chiropractic Councils, and any other regulatory bodies, should develop schemes
whereby they accredit certain training courses aimed specifically at doctors
and other healthcare professionals, and which are developed in conjunction with
them. Similar schemes should be pursued by dentists and veterinary surgeons (para 6.95).
The General Osteopathic and General Chiropractic
Councils are empowered under their respective Acts to formally recognise
qualifications. The General Osteopathic Council already recognises
a qualification for doctors. The Government would encourage other
Research
(Chapter 7)
31. To conduct research into the
To provide a starting point for
possible improvements in CAM treatment, to show whether further inquiry would
be useful, and to highlight any areas where its application could inform
conventional medicine does the treatment offer therapeutic benefits greater
than placebo?
To protect patients from hazardous
practices - is the treatment safe?
To help patients, doctors and
healthcare administrators choose whether or not to adopt the treatment - how
does it compare, in medical outcome and cost-effectiveness, with other forms of
treatment? (para 7.7)
The questions the report identifies are important
questions to address when considering research on a particular
invested in the
most productive areas.
Given the limited research capacity in this area and
the barriers to developing a research culture in CAM, the feasibility of the
research should be an important consideration, for example where there are
opportunities to develop high quality research programmes which can act as
"models" or "beacons" of research excellence in CAM. The
identification of priorities for research should also take account of whether
the nature of a treatment, the condition being treated, or the scale of use,
creates an exceptional public health need to gain evidence of safety or
efficacy.
32. We recommend that CAM practitioners
and researchers should attempt to build up an evidence base with the same rigour as is required of conventional medicine, using both Randomised Controlled Trials and other research designs (para 7.26).
The Government agrees that an evidence base for
Enhancing the evidence base in an area such as
33. To achieve
equity with more conventional proposals, we recommend that research funding
agencies should build up a database of appropriately trained individuals who
understand
The Government has recognised
the need to involve appropriate experts on relevant panels and committees or
through the peer review process. For example in commissioning projects covering
CAM the Health Technology Assessment programme invited
comments from appropriate peer reviewers through the Research Council for
Complementary Medicine.
The Medical Research Council (MRC) will be developing
databases of research experts who are familiar with the issues raised by
34. We recommend that universities and
other higher education institutions provide the basis for a more robust
research infrastructure in which
schools,
be established with the support of research funding agencies including the
Research Councils, the Department of Health, Higher Education Funding Councils
and the charitable sector (para 7.57).
37. We recommend that the NHS R&D
directorate and the MRC should pump-prime this area with dedicated research
funding in order to create a few centres of excellence for conducting CAM
research, integrated with research into conventional healthcare. (para 7.102).
Recommendations 34 and 37 seem to address the same
issue.
The current capacity for research in this field and
the scale of current research make it premature to talk of setting up separate
centres of excellence. Research capacity cannot be created simply by forming
academic posts – clinical trials, as in conventional medicine, depend also on
commitment, attitudes and competence of practitioners in the field.
We recognise the need to develop the research
capacity in this field. It is important that high quality researchers are
developed and the Department is considering the best way to achieve this
objective. We will be asking the NHS R&D Workforce Capacity Implementation
Group to consider research capacity development needs in
Proposals for CAM research can be considered through
the usual funding mechanisms of the Department of Health and the MRC, and some
The Department welcomes proposals for
However it is important that links should continue to
be made between researchers already working in or interested in this area with
a view to developing and strengthening research networks, which in turn will
encourage the production of high quality research into
35. Bodies such as the Departments of
Health, the Research Councils and the Wellcome Trust
should help to promote a research culture in CAM by ensuring that the
academic posts, offering time for research and teaching, should be
established (para 7.67).
The Government is aware of the need both to promote
better understanding of research in the complementary medicine field, and to
develop better quality research conducted by practitioners in this field. We
are also aware that there are a number of qualified and experienced researchers
interested in research into
The Government has started to promote a research
culture by forging links between
The development of workforce capacity in healthcare
research is an important element of the NHS R&D Strategy. The NHS R&D
Workforce Capacity Implementation Group has addressed research capacity
development needs in a number of different professions and relevant
disciplines, including the therapy professions. NHS R&D support for
research capacity development ranges from research training courses and
bursaries to high level awards for research leaders of the future and is being
provided through a mix of regional and national schemes. These are open to a
wide range of professions including
The Department will ensure that these opportunities
are made more widely known to the
We do not consider that separate University posts
devoted to
Group to consider research capacity
development needs in
36. We recommend that companies producing
products used in
The Government considers that, since
Information
(Chapter 8)
38. We recommend that the NHS Centre for
Reviews and Dissemination work with the Research Council for Complementary
Medicine (RCCM), the UK Cochrane Centre, and the British Library to develop a
comprehensive information source with the help of the Centralised
Information Service for Complementary Medicine (CISCOM) database, in order to
provide comprehensive and publicly available information sources on CAM
research, and that resources be made available to enable these organizations to
do so (para 8.21).
As stated earlier, the Government expects the
National Electronic Library for Health and NHS Direct Online to be the main conduits
through which information on the most authoritative
International initiatives also provide useful sources
of information. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
(NCCAM) at the National Institutes of Health in the USA (NIH) is dedicated to
exploring complementary and alternative healing practices in the context of
rigorous science; training CAM researchers; and disseminating authoritative
information. They have recently launched a complementary component to their
website with a database of over 220,000 abstracts, reference and articles. The
Department of Health will initiate discussions with the CRD about this
recommendation although any resultant proposals requiring additional resourcing will need to be considered alongside other
priorities for research and development.
39. ……Consequently we support the plans of the Department of Health to make
information on
patients (and their doctors) evaluate different
40. We are aware that the National
electronic Health Library and NHS Direct Online plan to have information
available about CAM in the future and we support these plans and recommend that
they are carried forward (para 8.48).
There are plans for NHS Direct Online to issue a
feature on complementary medicine in the near future. The exact content of this
feature has yet to be determined, but the possibility of including electronic
links to reliable sources of more detailed information will be considered. The
NHS will, over time, develop local information services which will include
details of registered practitioners
and clinics.
In due course the National Electronic Library for Health and NHS Direct Online
will also signpost statutory registers of healthcare practitioners, including
statutorily registered
To complement this work, the Department has also
commissioned the Foundation for Integrated Medicine to produce an information
leaflet for patients and the public, and provide supporting electronic
information.
41. We recommend that CAM regulatory bodies,
whether statutory or voluntary, remind their members of the laws concerning
false claims in advertisements and take disciplinary action against anyone who
breaks them. Information leaflets produced by such bodies should provide
evidence based information about a therapy aimed at informing patients, and
should not be aimed at selling therapies to patients (para
8.57).
The Government sees
Delivery
(Chapter 9)
42. We recommend that those practising privately-accessed CAM therapies should work
towards integration between CAM and conventional medicine, and
The Government agrees that there is scope for closer
integration of
43. We recommend that all NHS provision of
44. We recommend that only those CAM therapies
which are statutory regulated, or have a powerful mechanism of voluntary
self-regulation, should be made available, by reference from doctors and other
healthcare professionals working in primary, secondary or tertiary care, on the
NHS (para 9.46).
The Government supports these recommendations. The
Government agrees with the need for strong evidence beyond the placebo effect
for therapies in Groups 1 and 3 and the practise of
effective professional self-regulation to the standards
recommended in Supporting
Doctors, Protecting Patients to support any use of therapies on the NHS.
However, even when these two conditions are met, it must be for the NHS
clinician or healthcare practitioner with lead clinical responsibility for the
individual patient to judge whether, when and how the patient could benefit
from the use of a particular therapy.
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