§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to include natural health research and therapies in policies aimed at tackling cardiovascular disease and cancer. [53352]
§ Yvette CooperDecisions on what specific services and treatments to use are mostly made at a local level, so that national health service organisations may fund some natural health therapies, particularly in the care of cancer patients.
The National Institute of Clinical Excellence has been commissioned to produce guidelines on supportive and palliative care for cancer patients, which will be published in 2003. These guidelines will include the role that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) might play. The Department funds some research into CAM. A programme to build capacity in research into CAM will be launched shortly, and the Department is also planning to commission new work on the use of CAM techniques in the care of patients with cancer.