WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP

The consultation period as shown below, has now passed. I will post updates as they become available on this page. I would like to thank everyone for their interest and support for the future of herbal medicine.

Click here to find out more or go to http://saveourherbs.co.uk/herb-supporter-appeal/

If we want to preserve access to medicines which have an unbroken history going back thousands of years we need to ACT NOW. In spite of 10 years of negotiation and a 2008 Steering Group report which recommended that Statutory Regulation should go ahead, the Government has issued yet another unnecessary consultation document:

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_103567

or go straight to the consultation document on;

http://www.info.doh.gov.uk/questionnaire/ahmtcm_consultion.nsf/questionnaire?openform

I am asking visitors to my site to do two things:

1) Write to your MP telling him that you want the government to continue with its stated intention of Statutory Regulation for Herbal Medicine. If you feel you need help with this, you will find specimen letters at: http://actnow.nimh.org.uk/2009/10/act-for-choice-of-herbal-medicine-in.html

If you do not know who your MP is, you can find this by entering your postcode at http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/ This site also gives you an opportunity to email your MP - which may be a safer method with postal strikes going ahead.

2) Write to the Department of Health with a response to the Consultation Document. Replies must be received by 16th November to be valid. They should be sent to:-

AHMTCM Consultation Team
Department of Health
Room 2N09
Quarry House
Quarry Hill
Leeds LS2 7UE

Alternatively you may wish to respond to the document directly online via the automated response system. When you click on the link above, you will see a link to this automated system at the very bottom of the page.

Many of the questions you may find difficult or impossible to answer. That's fine - just say so. However, if you would prefer some guidance on how to complete the Consultation, go to http://actnow.nimh.org.uk/2009/10/sample-response-to-questions-in-doh.html and click on "Consultation response" on the left hand side, where you will see suggested answers.

If you feel that this is too complicated, you can simply send a short letter or postcard to the address above saying something like:

"Dear Department of Health Response Team,

Re: DoH Joint Consultation on the Report to Ministers from the DH Steering Group on the Statutory Regulation of Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Other Traditional Medicine Systems practised in the UK.

As a patient, I want the Government to establish Statutory Regulation for Herbal Medicine, Acupuncture, TCM and other traditional medicine systems.

No arrangement other than Statutory Regulation will meet my needs.

I could not fill in the Consultation response online to to its complexity and difficulty of use.

Signature:

Name (printed):

Address:

Date:"

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!