People are still not benefiting from Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is ways that they could, write Dr Naveed Akhtar and Dr Toh Wong in the College of Medicine’s manifesto Hope for the Future.
“Many more people could be reaping the benefits of CAM than currently are.”
The authors also discuss how the Government has supported social prescribing in recent years, but say there remains “no funding for research on CAM, and no dedicated lead assigned to it in either the Department of Health or NHS England.”
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The rallying cry for a more integrative approach suggests five action points for improving care for patients and surmises: “For fully integrated healthcare to succeed, practitioners need a strong understanding of when to use Conventional Medicine and when to use CAM, with the ultimate aim only ever being to achieve the best outcome for a patient.”
READ THE FULL CHAPTER ON INTEGRATIVE HEALTH HERE
ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF MEDICINE The College of Medicine was founded in 2010 to reform healthcare so that it works for everyone in a way that’s inclusive, progressive and compassionate. We want to redefine medicine beyond pills and procedures, to reconnect practitioners with patients, people with their environment and use both conventional and non-conventional approaches to health. The College is a ‘coming together’ of some of the brightest minds in the UK including NHS pioneers, scientists, CAM professionals, students and members of the public.
