[Your Address : Insert as appropriate ]
AHMTCM Consultation TeamDepartment of Health
Room 2 N0.9
Quarry House
Quarry Hill
Leeds LS2 7UE
[Date: Insert as appropriate ]
Dear Sir
Response to : Joint UK-wide consultation on the Report to Ministers from the DH steering Group on the Statutory Regulation of Practitioners of Herbal Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine and other Traditional Medicine Systems practised in the UK www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_103567
I find the Consultation Document itself to be too lengthy and complex to follow easily. I would therefore like to make my response to this Consultation as follows:
As a frequent user of herbal medicine, I wish to see improved quality and safety of herbal medicines which I believe can best be done through the protection of the practice of professional medical herbalists.
I wish to safeguard the right of myself and my family to have the choice of using professional herbal medicine if we wish to do so and would be strongly against any moves which threatened this right. Indeed I wish to see herbal medicine properly integrated into the health care arena making it possible for my GP/Consultant/Medical Herbalist to be able communicate and share professional responsibility for my health care.
I understand that the Government's own House of Lords report started the process of regulation of herbal medicine in 2000. The Steering Group reported in June 2008 with clear direction as to how and why herbalists should be regulated. I am in agreement with these documents.
It seems to me that all due care and process has been taken - it is now time for the Government to enact the legislation which would allow herbalists to be statutorily regulated.
Yours faithfully,
[Signature]
