The award has come from the new
National Complementary and Alternative Medicines Award (CAM) scheme, set up
by the Government to develop alternative health treatments, and will fund a
Research Fellowship for Dr Hugh MacPherson who joins the Department in June.
The project has also attracted the attention of Prince Charles, a keen
advocate for alternative medicine, who had a meeting with Dr MacPherson in
May to discuss his research.
Depression is a common psychiatric
disorder and about one-third of the population have experienced an episode
of depression during their lifetime. It can result in high personal, social
and economic costs through social exclusion, disability, deliberate
self-harm and health care provision.
Ten patients have been recruited for the pilot study
and referred for up to ten acupuncture treatments. A variety of psychological outcome
measures are being used to measure changes in psychological well-being over time. Dr
MacPherson's project will also be the first research to look at the cost-effectiveness of
acupuncture with other therapies, with a view to streamlining NHS treatment and reducing
costs.
"Increasingly, the population is turning to complementary and alternative medicine
sources as well as utilising mainstream medicine," said Health Minister Hazel Blears.
"The development of a solid evidence base for complementary and alternative medicine
is therefore important. I anticipate it will underpin the future integration of all forms
of therapy towards improving the nation's health."
Says Dr MacPherson, who runs the Foundation for Traditional Chinese Medicine, based in
York, "In the UK there are currently around 60,000 practitioners of
complementary medicine giving 20 million treatments annually. And so far there has been no
research about how effective it is or how safe it is."
