Mr. Tom Ellisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, after consulting his medical advisers, he will express a view as to whether training in hmoeopathy is not of sufficient relevance to modern medical practice to warrant financial support for courses for general practitioners; and whether his department recognises homoeopathy as a branch of medicine together with the clinical freedom of qualified practitioners to practice homoeopathy.
Mr. Tom Ellisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make an annual grant to the Faculty of Homoeopathy to establish training courses in homoeopathy for general practitioners.
§ Mr. MoyleIt is not my Department's policy to make grants to the faculties or Royal colleges concerned with medical specialties for the establishment of training courses.
Mr. Tom Ellisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what complaints he has received from hospital administrators about the size of the catchment area served by homoeopathic consultants.
§ Mr. MoyleNone has been brought to my attention.
46Wand cancer, respectively, by year for the last five years for Cumbria and for the United Kingdom as a whole.
§ Mr. MoyleThe numbers of deaths from leukaemia (ICD 204–207) and cancer ((ICD 140–209) in each of the last five years for which figures are available, and annual average numbers and rates for the period are as follows:
Mr. Tom Ellisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will list those areas of the country where people who have sought medical treatment by homoeopathic consultant physicians are obliged to travel 50 miles or more to receive such treatment.
Mr. Tom Ellisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many posts of consultant homoeopathic physicians are at present vacant in National Health Service hospitals; and whether he will list these posts and the date when they became vacant;
(2) whether he will list those National Health Service hospitals which have on their staff one or more consultant homoeopathic physicians.
§ Mr. MoyleAs homoeopathic medicine is not recognised as a separate speciality in the National Health Service in England, there are no posts for consultant homoeopathic physicians. Information on the number of consultant physicians who use homoeopathic techniques is not collected.