The High Court has dismissed a legal challenge by the British Homeopathic Association over a decision by NHS England to stop funding the discredited treatment.

The case came after the NHS issued new guidelines for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) in November 2017 which listed homeopathy alongside herbal medicine and glucosamine/chondroitin as treatments which should not now be prescribed to new patients and which CCGs should assist in de-prescribing in all patients, on the grounds that they are "products of low clinical effectiveness, where there is a lack of robust evidence of clinical effectiveness or there are significant safety concerns."

The British Homeopathic Association challenged the decision on the grounds that the public consultation which preceded the guidelines was, amongst other things, conducted unfairly and biased/predetermined.

The judge, however, ruled otherwise, saying in his ruling that the consultation was "fair and balanced" and there was "no evidence of bias or predetermination on NHSE's part".

NHS chief Simon Stevens welcomed the decision, saying: "There is no robust evidence to support homeopathy which is at best a placebo and a misuse of scarce NHS funds.

"So we strongly welcome the High Court’s clear cut decision to kick out this costly and spurious legal challenge."

Photo: Multicolored homeopathy tubes isolated on a white background. Lush. Shutterstock.

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