"Referral to The Royal London Hospital for Integrate Medicine"

My 18 year old daughter asked her Rheumatologist if she could be referred to the RLHIM for complementary treatment for her fairly recently diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis. This doctor said she cannot make referrals and directed my daughter to her GP.

My daughter also has a recent history of severe depression following anorexia nervosa, which entailed in total over a year of hospital admissions. She is now able to manage her conditions using various drug treatments but these have the potential, especially in combination, for severe liver damage and even liver failure. She is very concerned about the long-term effects of these drugs, particularly as they are only prescribed to 'manage' the condition and therefore she is likely to need to take them for many years. She is also having to deal with the side effects of this combination of drugs. She has 2 separate consultants so also feels that she's not cared for as a 'whole' by the standard NHS service.

She and I have found many positive stories of patients for whom the standard treatment was unsatisfactory, actually worsening the RA severely, but who have been to the RLHIM for complementary treatment, mainly homeopathic, and have been restored to full health, or near enough.

Her GP said that as there was no evidence for the use of homeopathy he was unable to apply for funding for a referral to the CCG. I contacted the CCG who said that the cases that usually got funding were those whose condition had failed to respond to standard treatment or that the side effects were intolerable.

Due to this, we are paying to see the NHS consultant that she wanted to see at the RHLIM, privately, at quite considerable expense. Hopefully, as a medical homeopath, he was look at her 'case' in its entirety and prescribe medication for all her symptoms, mental and physical.

It seems to me that patients who have multiple conditions (including psychiatric) should have a choice of treatment by one expert who will take all of these symptoms into account.

Further more, surely for conditions that have not progressed to actual physical deterioration, it is better to try and treat them with safer practices than to use drugs with possible severe potential harm? That could be a cheaper long-term option for the NHS.