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The government is treating plans to establish a statutory register for practitioners of herbal medicine as a "priority", peers have heard.
EU legislation will permit only statutorily registered professionals to prescribe manufactured herbal remedies from May this year.
During questions in the upper chamber this morning, ex-leader of UKIP Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked the government whether they would introduce statutory regulation of qualified and competent herbal medicine practitioners by the Health Professions Council at the earliest opportunity.
Health minister Lord Howe told peers that while final decisions need to be made, the government is "actively exploring" the establishment of a statutory register for herbal practitioners.
He said: "We are currently in discussion with the devolved administrations, the Health Professions Council and the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council about the feasibility of such a register and we expect to make an announcement shortly.
"The government is treating this issue as a priority."
Lord Pearson, a patron of the register of Chinese herbal medicine, called on the government to implement measures at the "earliest opportunity".
The former UKIP leader said: "Some 5.8 million British people rely on herbal medicines for their well-being, that thousands of businesses and practitioners supply them and that none of this can continue as at present after 1 May if the government does not meet the terms of the EU.
"Secondly, does the minister agree that we owe this predicament entirely to our membership of the European Union. Why cannot the British government simply tell Brussels that we will decide this matter for ourselves?"
Earl Howe said the government was "acutely aware of how important an issue this is for many millions of consumers and that is why we are working to reach what I hope will be a workable solution to ensure continuing access to popular and widely used products".
He told peers that there were "good reasons" for the European-wide nature of that the medicines legislation framework. "It exists both to protect public health in relation to medicines placed on the EU market and to ensure a level playing field for operators," he said.
The minister added: "Within that framework there is flexibility for EU member states to operate national arrangements for the regulation of medicines in situations where an authorised health professional determines that an individual patient has special needs.
"We are considering using that flexibility in relation to herbal medicines."
Liberal Democrat Lord Taverne said: "Do not most of the senior professional bodies, such as the MRC, the royal colleges and the Physiological Society, oppose registration because it gives a spurious authority to practices that are not based on science?"
Earl Howe said that with regards to herbal medicines, there is an international trade in sometimes "poor-quality, unregulated and unlicensed herbal preparations".
He added: "Some of these have been found to contain banned substances, heavy metals or pharmaceutical ingredients or substances from outside the UK that may not be subject to any form of regulation at all, so there is a public safety issue."
Article Comments
Nutritional Therapists welcome the government's intention that practitioners who use unlicensed plant, fungal and algal (i.e. herbal) products in accordance with their occupational standards will shortly come under statutory regulation. This will ensure that nutritional therapists are able to continue their professional practice after 30 April.
British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy
14th Jan 2011 at 4:49 pm
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