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Liverpool health bosses are spending £30,000 a year of taxpayers’ money on treatment the NHS admits does not work.

The Good Thinking Society, a pro-science charity, threatened the Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) with legal action over its funding for homeopathy.

The organisation has since pledged to review its spending on the alternative treatment.

Homeopathy – the use of highly diluted substances to treat minor ailments – is criticised for lacking scientific backing.

The NHS Choices website admits: “There is no good quality evidence that homeopathy is effective as a treatment for any health condition.”

Simon Singh, chairman of The Good Thinking Society, said: “Homeopathic treatments when paid for by the NHS are a waste of crucial resources that would be better spent on evidence-based and effective treatments.

“We are delighted at the decision of the Liverpool CCG to rethink its misguided policy on spending money on homeopathy.

“We are confident that, on looking at the evidence, Liverpool CCG will decide not to spend any more on this ineffective treatment and we hope that the few remaining CCGs who currently fund homeopathy will follow suit.”

The Good Thinking Society estimates £4m is spent on homeopathy by different NHS trusts each year.

The society, backed by law firm Bindmans, wrote to the Liverpool CCG earlier this year threatening a judicial review of its decision to fund homeopathy.

The CCG has now pledged to look again at the expenditure, with a spokesman saying: “Liverpool CCG currently resources a small homeopathy contract to the value of £30,000 per year that benefits a small number of patients in the city who choose to access NHS homeopathy care and treatment services.

“The CCG has agreed with The Good Thinking Society to carry out further engagement with patients and the general public to inform our future commissioning intentions for this service.”

What is homeopathy?

According to NHS Choices, homeopathy is a “treatment based on the use of highly diluted substances, which practitioners claim can cause the body to heal itself”.

Practitioners say it can treat the following ailments:

Asthma, Ear infections, Hay fever, Mental health conditions, such as depression, stress and anxiety, Allergies, Dermatitis, Arthritis, High blood pressure

Some practitioners also claim homeopathy can prevent malaria but NHS Choices says: “There is no evidence to support this and no scientifically plausible way that homeopathy can prevent diseases.”