HC Deb 09 February 1996 vol 271 c367W
Sir David Steel

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how his Department encourages the provision of alternative medicine in the national health service. [13974]

Mr. Horam

As with other forms of treatment, it is for local purchasers to decide, in the light of available resources and competing priorities, on the purchase of the most appropriate forms of treatment to meet the assessed health needs of their population. The reforms we have introduced into the national health service have made it easier for those doctors who would like to provide alternative medicine services for their patients to do so.