Archive for Wednesday 16th April 2003 - Complementary medicine

One in five of us now uses complementary medicine. A new report, Complementary and Alternative Medicine: the consumer perspective, commissioned by the Prince of Wales’s Foundation for Integrated Health, reveals that we want more holistic care, but within the NHS. At present, four out of every five patients who use complementary therapies pay for them privately (around £14 per month), spending a total of £1.47 billion a year. The most popular complementary therapies are: acupuncture, aromatherapy, osteopathy and herbal medicine. They are used most effectively to treat chronic illnesses, such as asthma, back-pain, stress and migraine. The typical user is a professional female aged between 35 and 44. The report also identifies that increasing cultural diversity is helping to make holistic medicine, typical of the Chinese and Indian traditions, more popular. Professor David Peters, of the University of Westminster, says: “A person-centred, person-empowering approach to health care best facilitates healing... Bringing together complementary and conventional approaches could take us a step nearer to effective and affordable healthcare.” For more information on the report, visit www.fimed.org Mark Winter

Our energetic anatomy These are the top reasons people choose alternative treatments: Poor outcome from conventional treatment Adverse reaction to drugs Negative experience with doctors Disenchantment with orthodox medicine Good results from complementary treatment Active participation in personal healthcare Positive relationship with practitioner Sympathy with the aims of holistic care

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