§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's policy is on the availability of complementary medicines through the NHS. [162042]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonNational health service access to complementary therapies is at the discretion of individual trusts and clinicians. A formal mechanism for commissioning primary medical services from a variety of providers will be available to primary care trusts from 1 April. This could be used to commission clinically-appropriate and cost-effective complementary therapies to help meet the needs of the local community.