Hypnosis...should it be available on the NHS?

Breakfast television may become a recurring theme for the subject of my blogs pretty soon. Yesterday, BBC Breakfast aired a segment on hypnosis¹. The Royal College of Medicine have said in a report that hypnosis should be available on the NHS as standard treatment for those that need it. It is currently useful for "treating" symptoms such as anxiety and even irritable bowel syndrome; some people have suggested that it also may have a role in holistic care, while one man even hired a hypnotist during the winter to keep his staff warm² by making them "think they were warm", rather than investing in heaters!

Hypnosis in the perspective of the lay person has been boosted somewhat by the appearances of Derren Brown and Paul McKenna on the television. For people who wish to spend their own money on hypnosis, it's all well and good. Making it available on the NHS, however, is a different story. The NHS is already strapped for cash as it is and with reforms coming in, whether it stands up or not will be seen with time.

There are already many life-saving drugs that aren't available on the NHS mainly because of the costs and this is inevitable with a universal healthcare system. No doubt that the costs involved in supplying hypnosis through the NHS would be great, with funds for training, accreditation, premises, equipment and staffing, among others, being needed. At the same time, as the first video points out, regulation of the profession will be another cost and major issue to consider. Kenny "look into my eyes, the eyes the eyes, no not around the eyes, don't look around the eyes, look into my eyes!" Craig courtesy of Matt Lucas³ is the perfect example of what lengths rogue hypnotists could go to in order to take advantage of patients who may have tried all other feasible treatments for their condition.

In all, I don't believe hypnosis should be available on the NHS just yet, when it is in all kinds of other dilemmas. Having completed a social pharmacy module this year in which we learned about costs to the NHS, hypnosis should be low in the priority list compared to other treatments which could be argued are in greater need. In the future, should funding become less of an issue, maybe this sort of therapy could make an entrance.


Links:
1) BBC report on hypnosis (06/06/2011) - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13664587#
2) Hypnotist "beats big freeze" (24/12/2010) - http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_931800...
3) Kenny Craig at a car boot sale (Little Britain) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_BrXWTxi2k&feature...