Freedom of Information - HWHCT 161 Complementary Alternative Medicine

HWHCT-161

20 September 2022

FOI request:

I am writing to obtain information, under the Freedom of Information Act, about your Trust’s funding of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) services they provided.

To outline my query as clearly as possible, I am requesting:

1. How much the Trust has spent on CAM services for the following financial years: 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22. This includes salaries for those employed to carry out these services, costs of medicine, equipment and any additional costs involved.
2. A list of all services provided under CAM.

Trust response:

1. We do not have any direct contracts with providers for Complementary and Alternative therapies; some clinicians within the Trust Musculoskeletal Service (a very small percentage) use acupuncture within their treatment specifically for pain management for head and neck conditions. Finance do not have a costing as this falls within their normal salary package for their specific role.
2. Medicine component - HWHCT will only recommend and allow prescribing of medicines which have been included on the ICS drug formulary. Currently there are no complimentary (herbal / homeopathic) remedies permitted on the formulary.

Please be aware that although this information is accurate at the time it is provided, it may not be in the future and should not be relied upon.