NHS chief slams homeopathy bill

THE NHS should stop funding controversial homeopathy, its boss said yesterday.

Simon Stevens said the alternative medicine acts as a ‘placebo at best’, adding it is ‘absurd’ for doctors to prescribe it.

NHS funding for homeopathy is thought to be around £4million a year. Mr Stevens called for it to be cut as part of major plans for the NHS to save £1billion over two years.

Homeopathy is said to be able to treat a range of conditions from depression to asthma. Prince Charles has lobbied ministers to increase its use on the NHS. But Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies branded it ‘rubbish’ and called therapists ‘peddlers’.