Stuff that occurs to me

All of my 'how to' posts are tagged here. The most popular posts are about blocking and private accounts on Twitter, also the science communication jobs list. None of the science or medical information I might post to this blog should be taken as medical advice (I'm not medically trained).

Think of this blog as a sort of nursery for my half-baked ideas hence 'stuff that occurs to me'.

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Sunday 28 August 2011

Looks like Wirral PCT are going to reopen their consultation on #homeopathy


Shortened link for this post is http://is.gd/T2Nkxc
Wirral PCT decided on 29 March 2011 to stop funding homeopathy. This followed and I assume was because of the Evidence Check (22 February 2010) but the procedure may have been in place before then of course.

Pauline Lomas, who is 'certain homeopathy is one of the reasons she is alive today' after malignant breast cancer, has instructed Leigh Day & Co to challenge Wirral's decision
AND Wirral's method of holding these meetings in private.

I'm all for transparency but if this was a consequence of the Evidence Check then I'm not sure why another public consultation is necessary (I don't think it's a bad idea... no decision about me without me and all that, I like public consultations). The Evidence Check was a public consultation though, it was pretty well publicised and had oral or written submissions from several homeopaths and homeopathy societies. Having said that I do think that Pauline has a point, that these things should take place in public if they're going to take place at all.

So Wirral are going to reconsult, and do it publicly. Strangely though, Pauline still doesn't seem to be that happy about the result that she's brought about "I rely on homeopathy to treat my cancer so I’m very upset and angry that the PCT plans to reconsult and may still withdraw all funding from the homeopathy service."

Well, one can hope.
Further reading
UK Parliament, MPs urge Government to withdraw NHS funding and MHRA licensing of homeopathy 22 February 2010 - publication of the Evidence Check 2 report.
NHS Wirral, Homeopathy Commissioning 18 January 2011 - the implications on page 2 are interesting.
The Skeptic Canary, A chance to question NHS Wirral Primary Care Trust on homeopathy 7 March 2011 - actually highlights that not a great deal of notice was given.
Further listening
The Skeptic Canary / ipadio, Thoughts on NHS Wirral PCT public consultation on homeopathy 9 March 2011 - interestingly there's a story given of a woman who discovered a breast lump. She was about to be referred to a cancer specialist but in the waiting-list interim went to see a homeopath. When she came to see the specialist the lump had gone - it hadn't actually been diagnosed as cancer yet - but this was given as evidence that homeopathy had cured her cancer. I assume this isn't Pauline Lomas though as, according to the solicitor's website, she was "was diagnosed with malignant breast cancer in 2001" and she is still using homeopathy to treat her cancer.

2 comments:

  1. Pauline added a comment on the mirror of this blog so I'm reposting it here:

    "as fate would have it I have just stumbled upon this site. I am in fact Pauline Lomas and yes still alive and well and able to continue using homeopathy as part of my ongoing regime to combat breast cancer. Hopefully the changes due in 2013 will not effect the availability of homeopathy on the NHS Wirral for cancer patients."

    ReplyDelete
  2. While I'm delighted that you're well I can't share your enthusiasm for any money being spent on homeopathy. I'd be amazed if it was available next year but quite frankly I'm already gobsmacked that homeopathy's survived this long in the NHS.

    ReplyDelete

Comment policy: I enthusiastically welcome corrections and I entertain polite disagreement ;) Because of the nature of this blog it attracts a LOT - 5 a day at the moment - of spam comments (I write about spam practices,misleading marketing and unevidenced quackery) and so I'm more likely to post a pasted version of your comment, removing any hyperlinks.

Comments written in ALL CAPS LOCK will be deleted and I won't publish any pro-homeopathy comments, that ship has sailed I'm afraid (it's nonsense).