HOME QUESTIONS The ADVANCED: Q10

Q10. By reference to the following article and further research, appraise, in a professional, factual and non-emotive manner, the claim that hypnotherapy could save the NHS money. Learning outcomes: 3.4

3. Academic thinking and argumentation

3.4 An ability to critically appraise, in a professional, factual and non-emotive manner, claims made in the media, including digital media such as websites, or those made by colleagues, supervisors and trainers.

EXAMPLE ANSWER AND ASSISTANCE

Q10

Note the approach required and the learning outcome

Professionally critically appraise article

Example Answer from student, “Founded in July 1948, funded by national insurance contributions, the National Health Service was intended to provide access to health care “Free at the point of delivery”.

The funding of the NHS has been a massive problem to successive governments ever since. As medical practices and techniques have evolved, leading to newer and more expensive equipment for both diagnosis and treatment, whole industries are now geared toward researching, developing and supplying new drugs for each and every malady imaginable.

Against such a background, one might think that a safe and effective alternative would be embraced by most medical professionals, both for the economies involved and the comfort of their patients. Unfortunately, it appears that many doctors choose to ignore the results of the published research into the benefits of hypnosis. Possibly viewed as a “Mystical” or “Eastern” practice, it is shunned by the modern Western medical community in favour of manufactured drugs and surgical solutions.

In at least one field of medicine, published research has proved the efficacy of hypnotherapy. Dr. Roland Valori of Gloucershire Royal Hospital, editor of “Fronline Gastroenterology”, says that symptoms of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) improved significantly for 9 in 10 of his first 100 patients so treated. He began referring patients as long ago as the 1990s and has found it to be very effective. “It is pretty clear to me that it has an amazing effect” “Of the relaxation therapies available, hypnotherapy is the most powerful” he said.

Despite research showing that hypnosis could help IBS sufferers as early as the 1980s, it is still rarely offered as an option. Current NHS guidelines allow for referral for hypnotherapy or other psychological therapies if medication is unsuccessful or symptoms persist. Doctor Valori thinks that the research may have been overlooked because many doctors find it hard to believe that it could possibly work, and cannot understand how it might work.

Two other areas where hypnotherapy could prove cost effective and beneficial are weight control and smoking cessation. According to a report in August 2013 by the Health & Social Care Information centre (HSCIC);

- Over 2.2 million items were prescribed at a cost of over £58 million to help smoking cessation in England.

- Around 462,900 adult hospital admissions were attributable to smoking

According to a study by Mckinsey Global Institute (MGI) in November 2014, obesity has the second largest health impact after smoking. The UK currently spends £47 billion every year on treatment of obesity, and bringing just 20 percent of overweight individuals back to “normal” weight within 5 to 10 years would save the NHS £766 million every year.

Dr. Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England (PHE) said that tackling the problem required communication between public and private sectors, and “There is no single ‘silver bullet’ solution. Today 25 percent of the nation is obese and 37 percent is overweight. If we reduce obesity to 1993 levels, where 15 percent of the population were obese, we will avoid 5 million disease cases and save the NHS alone an additional £1.2 billion by 2034,”

As more hypnosis techniques are utilized and further research is conducted and published, still greater results may be obtained across many more areas of treatment, to the point that hypnotherapy and hypnosis could become a mainstream NHS offering.

Surely further education and promotion of these techniques could be of massive benefit to medical staff and the NHS as a whole, not to mention the patients. “

Q10. Correct. I like the way you have, again, really read and understood the elements of the question and answered accordingly, drawing on the given article and also adding to its premise with further research. This is a very interesting and informative answer.