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_____ From: NSS Admin [ <mailto:[log in to unmask]> mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 18 May 2007 17:27 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Newsline 18 May 2007 NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY NEWSLINE 18 May 2007 spiritual[snip] "Spiritual healers" using up scarce NHS resources The University College London Hospital is to spend £80,000 on testing whether "spiritual healers" can have an effect on cancer. "Healers" - who wave their hands over the patient and claim to transmit some kind of undefined 'energy' - want to find out whether their efforts increase the number of white blood cells in cancer sufferers. Astonishingly, UCLH has a dedicated team of 10 "healers", who cost the hospital around £80,000 a year to maintain. They are the idea of department manager Angela Buxton who first became interested in "spiritual healing" after the death of her seven year old son from leukaemia. She told the local paper: "Science has not caught up with how it works. Anecdotal evidence shows it works but we need hard evidence." The trial will need 50 volunteers who have had chemotherapy. "We want to know if the white blood cells are increasing after we give the patient healing," Mrs Buxton said. Dr Michael Irwin, co-ordinator of the Secular Medical Forum commented: "What a ridiculous way to waste £80,000. Surely the ten 'helpers' at UCLH could be financed by those, outside the hospital, who believe in this hocus-pocus? £80,000 could pay the salaries of four nurses for a year - a much better use of anyone's precious resources." Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society said: "This 'healers' project is self-indulgent claptrap. There are many scientifically-proven cancer treatments available that health authorities cannot afford to prescribe. This rubbishy pseudo-science should be kicked out of the hospital immediately." See also Secular Medical Forum <http://www.secularmedicalforum.org.uk> website http://www.secularmedicalforum.org.uk/ <http://www.secularmedicalforum.org.uk/> Cash-strapped <http://www.politics.co.uk/news/health/nhs/nhs-personnel/cash-strapped-nhs-s heds-17000-employees-$472264.htm%0d%0a> NHS sacks 17,000 employees Britain second-rate when it <http://www.news-medical.net/?id=25082%20> comes to cancer sufferers Half <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1801190.ece%0d%0a> of all A&E units marked for closure Merkel[snip] Please feel free to use the material in this Newsline with appropriate acknowledgement of source. Newsline nor the NSS is responsible for the content of websites to which it provides links. Nor does the NSS or Newsline necessarily endorse quotes and comments by contributors, they are brought to you in the interests of the free exchange of information and open debate ********************************************************************** 1. To suspend yourself from the list, whilst on leave, for example, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the following message: set psci-com nomail 2. To resume email from the list, send the following message: set psci-com mail 3. To leave psci-com, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the message: leave psci-com 4. Further information about the psci-com discussion list, including list archive, can be found at the list web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/psci-com.html 5. The psci-com gateway to internet resources on science communication and science and society can be found at http://psci-com.ac.uk **********************************************************************