Comments | jhirat_dai: NHS Tayside to tackle the common-sense deficit...

jhirat_dai

NHS Tayside to tackle the common-sense deficit...

Aug 16, 2010 12:14

The Daily Express* has run an article (I won't link to the DE - sorry) pointing out the ridiculousness of NHS Tayside cutting 500 jobs in a £30m economy drive while advertising a £68,000pa job for a homeopathy "doctor" - to earn which one must only work 8 hours a week ( Read more... )

politics (sort of), irant

Comments 6

snowcalla August 16 2010, 11:47:55 UTC

Homeopathy there must be very different from homeopathy here. Here - a Dr of Homeopathy must not only know everything a General Practitioner knows, but must also know acupuncture, herbalism, and at least one other type of non-traditional medicine. They emphasize diet and exercise and meditation and things like that, rather than going right for the pills, if THAT is what can correct or treat the illness ( ... )

bobbsy August 16 2010, 12:23:43 UTC

I'm with Gareth on this one--but based on the definition of homeopathy that I know which is simply giving incredibly diluted versions of certain herbs etc. This Wiki article matches my definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy

I have no problem with certain alternative medical treatments--for example acupuncture--which have some scientific evidence to back them up. But, unlike Gareth I won't call homeopathy a "snakeoil" cure--because snakeoil has enough substance to it to at least be detectable!

snowcalla August 16 2010, 15:26:16 UTC

This must be very different between the countries - because for the most part - to be a Dr of Homeopathy here you have to have an actual Doctorate degree from an accreditated school after getting a pre-med BS degree. They do use tinctures (herbalism) but the main focus is on the patients entire lifestyle and how that relates to their present illness and to prevent other illnesses. They can then choose to treat or refer patients to traditional Drs if they feel the patient should go that route (or to a specialist)

Looking at the wiki article...if that was all a homeopathic Dr did, I wouldn't support that, either.

jhirat_dai August 16 2010, 16:04:31 UTC

Your definition of homeopathy sounds more like complementary therapy, the scientific merits of some instances of which have not been completely debunked, and that’s about the most positive thing I have to say about it, I’m afraid. I can remember reading about some clinical studies which show it has some uses in some circumstances.

I’ve even experienced it myself, in Kathmandu. I had a pounding headache which ibuprofen was not helping, some guy proposed a solution: he did something intensely painful to my hand between my thumb and forefinger that he’d learned off a local, and bang, no more headache. Could be a coincidence, could be something in it - I personally thought it was a very cool trick and it’d be good to know how and why it worked. I also know that the local pharmacy was always busy and they sold a lot of ibuprofen, so evidently it wasn’t that reliable a technique ( ... )

snowcalla August 16 2010, 19:12:44 UTC

Hmmm...yeah. Our Homeopathic doctors are also called Complementary and Alternative MDs. Or they are called Naturopathy MDs. I get that all three are supposed to be very different things, but they are all coming to mean CAM doctors. I think it has more to do with all of them needing to be degreed doctors that combine many different approaches to medicine that is blending them together. perhaps ( ... )

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