Small News/Politics Graphic Complementary medicine is thriving in the U.K.
by Michael Evers
From Natural Healthline

LONDON -- London's a wonderful city to relax in, take in the sights, and visit alternative therapists who are becoming part of the mainstream. Changes in Britain's National Health Service in 1992 opened the way for general practitioners, the system's "gatekeepers," to refer patients to complementary practitioners and therapists, and there are thousands of them operating in the open all over the land. I visited several while there last week on a fact-finding mission.

In Southampton, about an hour south of London by train, I toured the Centre for the Study of Complementary Medicine, operated by medical doctors Julian Kenyon and George Lewith. Both were trained as general practitioners and practiced orthodox medicine for several years before exploring the realm of complementary medicine. They opened the Centre in 1982 to provide clinical services to the public and conduct research. Drs. Kenyon and Lewith utilize a wide range of complementary medical techniques, including acupuncture, homoeopathy, manipulative, environmental, nutritional and herbal medicines. Both have published extensively, including the *British Medical Journal* and *Lancet.*

Since 1987, Dr. Kenyon has been involved with the Dove Healing Trust, a UK-based charity whose mission is to investigate the scientific nature of subtle energies and promote research of complementary medicine worldwide. Last year, a US-based nonprofit corporation was formed, the Dove Health Alliance, and plans are underway for development of model clinics in California and elsewhere in the States.

Another day I visited Neal's Yard Therapy Rooms in Covent Garden. Opened in 1982, this eclectic clinic provides a plethora of therapies ranging from applied kinesiology and reflexology to cranial osteopathy and lymphatic drainage. Some 35 therapists rent out the 10 therapy rooms for several hours each week and to see patients who find the central London location convenient. The clinic is open until 9:30 p.m. on weeknights, another plus for busy workers who find it difficult to fit in a massage in their crowded workweek. A bulging "Therapists Book" contains detailed information on the professional qualifications of each therapist and descriptions of the services each provides and cost. Most are in the £25 to £45 range per one hour session.

And if the high cost of private consultation is preventing Londoners from seeing an herbalist, the recently opened Archway Clinic of Herbal Medicine at the Whittington Hospital may be able to help. It is the first herbal medicine clinic to be set up within an NHS hospital. Cut-price herbal treatment is given by undergraduate herbalists three days a week supervised by tutors from the National Institute of Medical Herbalists. Cost of treatment is £10 for 30 minutes, £20 for an hour. Although it is a pilot program, it may be expanded to other hospitals in the future if it proves successful.

Returning to the U.S. for the FDA meeting on Internet promotion, I was struck by how much more open the U.K. system is toward complementary medicine. Maybe its because they have been at it longer, or maybe they just are a more tolerant culture. Who knows? Perhaps we could learn from their experiences.


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