Though the availability of complementary therapy via the NHS is now beginning to make headlines in the
newspapers, it does not necessarily mean that all doctorsare willing to prescribe complementary medicine,
at the end of the day the decision to prescribe is still a matter for clinical judgementof your GP,
and even if they are willing, not all Commisioning Groupspresently have funding provisions dedicated
to complementary medicine. In some cases, this is simply a question of lack of resources and, in other
cases, it is a question of an unwillingness on the part of the Primary Care Trustto provide complementary therapy.
Any member of the public who is encountering difficulties in obtaining complementary therapy via the NHS
and who would like to bring this problem to the notice of their Care Trust, should write to the Patient Advice
and Liaison Co-ordinator (PAL)at the Commissioning Group.
The role of PALis a new one. The PALshave been created to act as an interface between the public
and the boards of the Commissioning Groupsresponsible for healthcare in their area. If enough members of the
public write on the subject, this will help the Boards of the commissionersbecome more aware of the true level
of demand and may lead to funding being made available where hitherto it was not.
It would also be appropriate for members of the public to write to the lay member of their local
Commissioning Group. The lay member is an ordinary member of the public, whose purpose is to represent
the local population.
Information on your local Commissioning Groupis available via your GP. Many Trusts also have
websites.