Why Homeopathy Can Save the NHS money and time

Having recently read Rachel Clarke’s book “Your Life in My Hands” I am struck dumb by the precarious situation of our beloved NHS. My doctor friends have hinted at the stress of under staffing but I had no idea the extent to which media spin has tried to cover it up. I work as a homeopath and have huge respect for the doctors around me. The ideal service for suffering patients is certainly integrative medicine. Most doctors would happily agree that keeping people healthy on all levels is the collective aim. Why then, I ask, do the Ben Goldacres of the world waste their time slamming my profession? More media spin. What is the point in lying about homeopathy? We have plenty of evidence based trials along with over 200 years of science. Every homeopath I know would encourage their patients to see a doctor for a medical opinion. Our job, plain and simple, is to help people regain health on every level: mental, emotional and physical. We have thousands of remedies we can use to achieve this. How can anyone argue that by keeping people healthy we are charlatans? Few of us earn more than a living wage and many of us hold down a second job. We, like the brave doctors in the NHS, love what we do and want to alleviate suffering. Our work keeping people well means they don’t need to use the overstretched NHS. Can we claim we cure our patients? No, of course we can’t. One therapy cannot cure, it is the multitude of changes a patient makes that leads to cure. When a patient who has been suffering chronic illness for years returns after taking homeopathic medicine and starts the session by saying “I don’t know how this tiny pill can do so much but I feel better in myself” this is music to my ears. The healing has begun. It may still be a long process involving other health professionals but through integrating our expertise we are offering CHOICE and empowering people to become involved in their own healing. So I ask again, “what is the point in attacking homeopathy if it so clearly helps so many people and costs the NHS virtually nothing?”