Wirral CCG to scrap homeopathy funding

Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is to stop funding homeopathy treatment, stating that the decision is not financially based.

Homeopathy uses highly diluted substances that practitioners say can cause the body to heal itself.

The Merseyside CCG is thought to be one of only three trusts still providing homeopathy in England. However, following a consultation, 95 per cent of people who responded wanted to end the £16,500 spent a year on homeopathy.

Dr Sue Wells, Wirral CCG's medical director, said: “We need to make sure the considerable money spent is used in the right way and gives the most benefit to Wirral residents.”

Bristol and London are believed to be the only areas left paying for homeopathy, according to the Good Thinking Society, which is campaigning to have it blacklisted on the NHS.

The decision appears to split opinion. Michael Marshall, Merseyside resident and Project Director of the Good Thinking Society, argued that it would be wiser to allocate resources to treatments with ‘tangible and clear, proven benefits’.

However, Dr Adrian Finter, a GP and homeopathic doctor, said he was disappointed at the withdrawal of funding, arguing that homeopathy allows patients to be ‘less dependent on the doctor, on the system and the NHS’.

NHS Digital data shows that about 8,894 homeopathic items were prescribed across England in 2015.