The Government consider that decision making on individual clinical interventions, whether conventional, or complementary/alternative treatments, are a matter for local national health service service providers and practitioners. In making such decisions, they have to take into account evidence for the safety, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the treatment, the availability of suitably qualified practitioners, and the needs of the individual patient. Clinical responsibility rests with the NHS professional who makes the decision to refer and who must therefore be able to justify any treatment they recommend. If they are unconvinced about the suitability of a particular treatment, they cannot be made to refer.
A working group, chaired by Professor Mike Pittilo of Robert Gordon University, has completed its work looking at proposals for regulation of herbal medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture which were made in a report of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology in 2000. Their report will be submitted to Ministers shortly, and a decision will then be taken about whether, and if so, how soon, legislation should be brought forward.