The following is a message to UPDATE readers from MEP Nuala Ahern (Greens/EFA, Ireland), Chair of European Parliamentary Working Group on Complementary and Natural Medicine. She is planning a seminar in November 2002 on how complementary medicine can be integrated into the main health care structures.
Nuala Ahern writes: I am both a consumer and legislator at European level with regard to complementary medicine and natural health. I can say there has been an explosion of consumer interest regarding different therapies that treat people from a holistic perspective.
Part of national health programme?
People have more freedom of choice and are more inclined to seek information and expertise outside of medical orthodoxy. This, of course, has to be regulated, but what people want is wide access to well run programmes of therapy. In many countries there is an insistent demand that these be provided for under the various health insurance schemes and this I see as a major issue for us in future years.
I have long been a consumer of both physical therapy and various forms of postural therapy and massage because of an old injury that gave me lots of problems with my neck. I lived with pain throughout my twenties going to doctors and taking anti-inflammatory pills. It was only when I discovered physical therapy that I began to live an active life again. I can only stress that for myself and many others the health service, as it is currently constituted, does not serve many people who live with chronic pain and injury. Yes, I have a homeopathic practitioner whom I see regularly. And I have also regular acupuncture and physical therapies, and massage osteopathy.
Regulation sought
The European Parliament has sought to encourage the European Union to evaluate, regulate and include complementary and natural medicines, in particular homeopathy. They did this because of the great consumer interest in using homeopathy, and the lack of clear regulations on the subject and the large differences between Member States. It proved impossible to get agreement on the way to move forward for regulation in Europe. A group of medical doctors in the European Parliament was particularly opposed to any formal or legal acknowledgement of the existence of complementary or natural medicines.
Within the Member States, there were large differences as to who could practice as a homeopath. In most of the southern states, including France, only medical doctors were allowed to practice. This looked like being the dominant paradigm and therefore might have been the harmonising approach for bringing legislative practice together into a single framework. However, it is unacceptable to Ireland, the UK, Germany and the Nordic states.
For the past two years, a new approach has been tried. On the one hand, those homeopaths who are medical practitioners are seeking to have homeopathy included in the current register of practice. This will allow them to, in a sense, deal with each other at a bi-lateral level across the different member states, and thus enjoy the freedom to move about and practice.
For other non-medical professionals the situation is very different. The chiropractors, for example, have found that members of their profession are being prosecuted in Spain for something that is perfectly legal in the UK. Therefore they are seeking redress under the free movement of workers and professional recognition at a European level. This is a lengthy process and a legal challenge may in fact have to be mounted before they get a satisfactory outcome - although they are working closely with the European Commission to find a way forward. We must remember that health care is entirely a matter for the member states and is not legislated for at European level. Indeed, different Member States are unlikely to give up their autonomy here.
Exchange on integrated care
Another interesting way forward which I am myself pursuing at the moment is to exchange information between the different Member States on what is coming to be called "integrated health care". This is the degree to which complementary and natural medicines have been incorporated into the traditional health care structures, which is happening to a greater or lesser degree in the Nordic countries, Germany, Holland, Belgium and the UK. I think it is extremely useful for the representatives of the Health Ministries to be informed as to what approach each of the others is taking. So, as President of the European Parliament’s Working Group on Complementary and Natural Medicine, I have organised a seminar to be held at the end of November on integrated health care. It will focus on the recent UK House of Lords’ report (which recommended that the most effective therapies should be integrated into the mainstream health service) and invite other health ministries to inform us in turn about what they are doing in this sphere. I hope that anyone who is interested in this will attend.
Examples of complementary and alternative medicine
Acupuncture: Acupuncture is an ancient Eastern system of healing which stimulates the body’s own healing mechanisms to restore natural balance through inserting fine needles into appropriate points underlying the skin.
Ayurveda is a combination of Indian philosophy and practical know-how specifying the vital physical, mental, emotional and spiritual requirements necessary to maintain health and the means by which these aspects of the human being can be restored in the case of disease.
Chiropractic: A system of treating diseases by manipulation, mainly of the vertebrae of the backbone. It is based on the theory that nearly all disorders can be traced to the incorrect alignment of bones, with consequent malfunctioning of nerves and muscle throughout the body.
Herbal medicine or phytotherapy is based on thousands of years of accumulated experience using plant remedies to treat disease. Today’s herbalists are rigorously educated to combine the best of traditional and modern scientific knowledge to draw up individualised prescriptions for the benefit of patients.
Homeopathy: A 200 year old system of medicine which treats the patient rather than just the disease and is based on the theory that "like cures like". The patient is treated with extremely small quantities of drugs that are themselves capable of producing symptoms of his or her particular disease.
Osteopathy: A diagnostic and treatment system based on the theory that many diseases are associated with disorders of the musculo-skeletal system. Diagnosis and treatment of these disorders involve palpation, manipulation and massage.
Reflexology: An ancient Chinese and Indian diagnostic and therapeutic system in which the soles of the feet and less commonly the palms of the hands are massaged deeply.
Shiatsu is an oriental healing art which treats people presenting with a wide range of physical conditions by the application of pressure to the body’s energy channels and points.
Explanations provided by Stephen Gordon, European Council for Classical Homeopathy.
