Would Jeremy Corbyn add a dose of homeopathy to the NHS? He believes it works, after all

What would the NHS be like if Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn became Prime Minister?

 

It would certainly remain publicly-funded – that he's adamant about.

 

It would also focus more on tackling mental health issues, as his appointment of the shadow cabinet's first ever “mental health minister” indicates.

 

But what about alternative types of medicine? Could what has always been a service dedicated primarily to scientifically-proven forms of treatment start handing out homeopathic remedies in high numbers? Quite possibly. 

 

Because it turns out that Corbyn believes homeopathic treatments actually work, despite the fact that there remains no scientific evidence to prove it.

 

In a tweet in 2010 he said he backed up this belief by saying that like conventional medicines, homeo-meds “come from organic matter”. 

He has also signed a number of daily motions petitioning for greater incorporation of homeopathy into the public health service. 

 

In 2007, he signed one called “NHS homeopathic hospitals”, which claimed “complementary medicine has the potential to offer clinically-effective and cost-effective solutions to common health problems faced by NHS patients”. The signatory voiced concern that cuts to the NHS were threatening the future of these hospitals.

 

Currently the NHS spends approximately £4m on homeopathy each year, which is just a fragment of its budget of almost £100bn. There are just four homeopathic hospitals in the UK – in Glasgow, Bristol, London and Liverpool.

 

Corbyn has not made any new comments about how he would approach the issue homeopathy in the NHS since he was elected as leader on 12 September, but he has made it clear he has more faith in the practice than many previously in his role.