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Tunbridge Wells Homeopathic Hospital

Health written question – answered at on 26 March 2009.

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Photo of Hugh Robertson Hugh Robertson Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to close the Tunbridge Wells homeopathic hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Photo of Phil Hope Phil Hope Minister of State (Care Services; Minister for the East Midlands), Department of Health

holding answer 23 March 2009

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust will no longer be providing homeopathic services for patients in West Kent from 1 April 2009. This follows a detailed clinical study by NHS West Kent in 2007 which concluded that it was not in the interests of overall patient care to continue to commission this service. It is the trust's understanding that the primary care trust will in future commission homeopathic services for patients on a case by case basis where each patient's clinical need is assessed.

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Annotations

Alan Henness
Posted on 27 Mar 2009 4:37 pm (Report this annotation)

It's a step in the right direction.

However, when would homeopathy <em>ever</em> be clinically indicated? Homeopathy may make a few believers <em>feel</em> a bit better, but it is useless pseudo scientific woo quackery, because there is NO clinical evidence it does anything over placebo.

bruce mcintosh
Posted on 1 Apr 2009 11:19 pm (Report this annotation)

I'm in complete agreement with Alan. Time and again homeopathic treatments have been tested, and no scientific trial has ever shown anything other than a placebo effect.

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holding answer

Parliamentary questions are conventionally answered within seven days of being lodged, or on a particular day for so-called "Named Day" questions. (Source: House of Commons Information Office, Factsheet P1, "Parliamentary Questions")

A holding answer may be issued by a Minister if, for whatever reason, a substantive or final answer to the question cannot be provided in the time available.