§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many doctors in each of the last five years have used acupuncture methods for, respectively, anaesthetic purposes or as a form of treatment for certain specific conditions; how far his Department is monitoring the value of these techniques on an experimental basis for particular purposes; and what action he is taking to ensure that both hospital staff and general practitioners are fully informed of these techniques and their evaluation.
§ Sir K. JosephInformation about the number of doctors who may have used acupuncture in the treatment of National Health Service patients is not available centrally. I am aware of an increasing interest in the subject, but my Department does not itself evaluate medical techniques; this is usually a matter for the profession, and hospital medical staff and general practitioners are kept informed through professional channels.