§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish a cost benefit analysis of(a) the use of complementary medicine in the NHS and (b) the use of drugs; and if he will make a statement. [71921]
§ Ms JowellGiven the wide range of treatments available both through orthodox and complementary medicine, it would be very difficult to draw any meaningful conclusions about their relative cost/benefits as a whole. The National Research Register includes details of projects which have examined the clinical and cost effectiveness of certain types of treatment or intervention for individual conditions, including complementary therapies. The Register is available in the Library and most medical libraries on CD Rom, and on the Internet at: http://www.doh.gov.uk/nrr.htm.
§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each health authority the spending on holistic therapy projects for each year since 1992; and if he will make a statement. [71918]
§ Ms JowellThe amount spent by each health authority on holistic therapy projects of any sort is not recorded centrally, and the funding of research projects is handled separately. A report published in 1995 by the Medical Care Research Unit of Sheffield University showed that some 40 per cent. of general practitioner partnerships in138W England provided some form of complementary therapy for their National Health Service patients.
Project details of work directly funded by the Department or supported through the NHS research and development levy can be found on the National Research Register (NRR). This is available in the Library and most medical libraries on CD Rom, and on the Internet: http://www.doh.gov.uk/nrr.htm. The NRR also contains many details of projects funded by the MRC and other funders.