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Homeopathic clinic is a roaring success Patients queue for treatment using natural alternatives
Lyn Barton A HOMEOPATHY clinic for NHS patients is set to be rolled out across South Yorkshire after becoming a runaway success in one GP's practice.
David Fitton, who runs a family doctor practice at Denaby, near Doncaster, launched the pilot clinic at Mexborough Montagu Hospital two-and-a-half years ago with the help of former consultant Gouri Bardhan.
The venture was the first time in the UK that a homeopathy clinic had been run in an NHS hospital by a GP.
Word soon got around and, in the last 30 months, the two have treated some 300 patients and achieved some remarkable results.
The clinic was initially just for patients of the Doncaster West Primary Care Trust. But now anyone in the county can be referred through their own GP.
Dr Fitton said he had long been interested in alternative remedies but became convinced in the power of homeopathy after a midwife friend convinced him to go on a taster course in London.
He realised the value of homeopathy in that it equips doctors with even more solutions to treat a range of complaints.
Homeopathic medicines are natural alternatives to traditional medicines and can be used to treat a huge variety of conditions from migraines to pain relief for cancer patients.
More than 3,000 homeopathic remedies are available and Dr Fitton reckons about a 90 per cent success rate for people referred to the clinic.
Dr Fitton, a member of the Faculty of Homeopathy, said: "Unlike conventional medicines, homeopathy treats the person and not the condition.
"The human body has its own healing powers which we don't exploit enough through conventional medicine, whereas homeopathy stimulates self-healing.
"Homeopathy has been available through the NHS for more than 50 years, but its value still remains relatively untapped."
Mum-of-two Kate Burrows told the Yorkshire Post how she benefited from natural remedies offered by the clinic.
Mrs Burrows, 48, of Harlington, near Mexborough, was suffering from mood swings, lethargy and hot flushes so her GP prescribed her a course of hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
But, fearing the consequences of HRT long term, she decided instead to take herbal remedies, which did not appear to work for very long.
"A friend told me about the clinic and my GP agreed to refer me. I had an initial consultation where Dr Fitton gathered all the background to my condition then he prescribed just two tablets," she said.
"I started to feel better straight away. It was almost as if my body had been kick started. I had another couple of tablets a year later and I have been fine since."
Alison Lovell, a 29-year-old mother of three from Conisbrough, near Doncaster, was referred to Dr Fitton's clinic suffering from urticaria, a profoundly irritating skin condition which resembles nettle rash spread across the body.
"I didn't like socialising unless I was wrapped up like a mummy when the urticaria was at its worst," she said.
"It put my life on hold."
She was referred to Dr Fitton who gave her some drops to put in water.
"The rash went and my quality of life has improved as a result," she said.
lyn.barton@ypn.co.uk
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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