All-Party Parliamentary Parliamentary Group on Beauty and Wellbeing January 2023

All-Party Parliamentary Group on Beauty and Wellbeing Report on the value of complementary therapies in supporting the UK’s health. January 2023.

Introduction The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Beauty and Wellbeing has undertaken an investigation into the complementary therapies sector, to consider how the sector can support everyone’s physical health, mental health and wellbeing and take pressure off the NHS.

The complementary therapies industry is an integral part of the Personal Care sector, which includes beauty, wellbeing, and alternative therapies. These therapies can be key to supporting everyone’s health and mental wellbeing. However, the sector’s value, contribution and position as a professional industry is often misinterpreted and overlooked. With the NHS under increasing pressure, it is vital that the benefits of complementary therapies are acknowledged by Government.

The complementary therapy industry and the medical professions can work together for the benefit of patients. Medical professionals could be better informed on the merits of these therapies and how they can refer patients through the use of social prescriptions to deliver better outcomes for patients, especially for those who experience chronic pain or mental health conditions, and for the public purse. To ensure complementary therapies can adequately support the NHS, we need to attract more talent into the sector and ensure all therapists receive the right training to become highly skilled professionals. We also need to enhance the perception of the professionalism within the sector, so that it is no longer seen as ‘frivolous and fluffy’ and non-essential. Building awareness and understanding of its value in supporting our nation’s health is one step. However, it also important to crack down on any bad practice and the ‘underground market’ of poor treatment.

We are grateful to all those who have taken the time to participate in this investigation, all of whom have added greatly to the knowledge of the group. We look forward to working with the Government to improve the landscape surrounding complementary therapies for the benefit of the Personal Care sector and hope that these recommendations will be carefully considered and acted upon. Recommendations: 

1. The Government must work with NHS England to better promote the benefits of social prescribing with GPs, nurses and other health and care professionals, and how they can refer people to non-clinical complementary therapy services.
2. The Personal Care sector team in the Department for Business, Energy, Industry and Strategy must work with officials within the Department for Health and Social Care responsible for social prescribing to better integrate complementary therapy services into the NHS, and produce guidance to support health professionals and therapists in doing so.
3. The Department for Health and Social Care must undertake or fund research studies to demonstrate the value of integrating complementary therapy services into the NHS through social prescribing.
4. The Department for Education must revisit the gap between the apprentice wage and minimum wage for apprentices aged 19+, and provide financial incentives for employers to take on learners on any ‘job ready ‘qualification.
5. The Government must give Environmental health officers (EHOs) greater powers to act quickly to deal with bad practice and lead a crack-down on tax evading businesses that are driving down prices and undermining legitimate businesses under pressure.

The value of the sector in supporting the nation’s health. 

The personal care sector, particularly complementary therapies, plays a significant role in supporting and improving the physical and mental health and wellbeing of the UK population. With our NHS under increasing pressure post COVID, it is more important than ever that the benefits of these therapies are recognised. 

The focus on critical care has resulted in those living with long-term chronic conditions or with strong social needs lacking in support. Currently, around 20% of patients consult GPs for problems that are primarily social rather than medical, which could be addressed by the collaboration of the NHS with the wellbeing and holistic therapies sector. 

The World Health Organisation Global Report on Traditional and Complementary Medicine in 2019 states: “In an ideal world, traditional medicine would be an option offered by a well-functioning, peoplecentred health system that balances curative services with preventive care.” Complementary therapies, when adopted by and integrated with the NHS, have almost invariably been cost effective and resulted in increased satisfaction of service users, with little or no risk of harm. Where COVID has resulted in some patients waiting too long for their treatments, some have ventured to alternative options, and shown significant improvements thus reducing the burden on NHS services. 

Treatments such as massage can play a vital role in helping those with long-term health conditions manage their symptoms. Research tells us that, in the UK, around 9 out of 10 people have tried a complementary therapy and 90% of this happens outside the NHS. Cancer research has suggested that up to 40% of people with cancer use some kind of complementary therapy during their illness. 

Outside of the NHS, complementary therapies can play an important role in helping people take a preventative approach to health, or even in identifying existing health conditions at an early stage in their customers. Complementary therapies have a range of preventative features and support existing health conditions in a myriad of different ways. 

 A survey conducted by the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT) shows a significant increase in the positive effects of complementary therapy practices alongside healthcare, including a 37% reduction in doctors’ visits. Other findings indicate that the complementary therapy treatments helped with stress and anxiety (54%), muscular pains (41%), lower back pain (26%), joint problems (22%) and tiredness and fatigue (22%). Using social prescribing to offer complementary therapies through the NHS has an important part to play in helping people live better for longer and compressing the period of morbidity and dependency at the end of life. 

The use of social prescribing of wellbeing and holistic therapies extends the accessibility and benefits of wellness to all; it can provide life changing support for those with conditions such as hormonal imbalance, puberty, fertility issues, pregnancy, menopause, anxiety, and stress – to name a few. A report by the Social Prescribing Network 10 suggests that by referring patients seeking help for non-medical issues to community based non-clinical services could help to take pressure off overstretched GP and other healthcare services. 

However, the APPG heard from experts that despite increasing Government focus on the role of social prescribing in the NHS, many GPs and practices are unaware of the benefits of social prescribing to such therapies. Equally the skills gap faced by the sector means not enough highly trained professionals are available to support the NHS is this way (which is discussed further in the next chapter). 

Organisations such as the College of Medicine and the Integrated Medicine Alliance have prioritised training to help educate healthcare workers in the different types of complementary therapies. The key to acceptance of the various therapies is in education, not just for healthcare workers, but also young students in medical and nursing schools. 

Collaboration between the NHS and the complementary therapies sector would also provide an acknowledgement of the importance and benefits of therapies which can support and aid both mental and physical wellbeing. 

The APPG suggests that a cross-departmental approach within the government between the Personal Care sector team in the Department for Business, Energy, Industry and Strategy which is responsible for the complementary therapy industry, and officials within the Department for Health and Social Care responsible for social prescribing policy, could grow this opportunity and allow greater access and information on complementary therapies and their benefit in reducing the burden on the NHS. 

Recommendations: 

1. The Government must work with NHS England to better promote the benefits of social prescribing with GPs, nurses and other health and care professionals, and how they can refer people to non-clinical complementary therapy services.
2. The Personal Care sector team in the Department for Business, Energy, Industry and Strategy must work with officials within the Department for Health and Social Care responsible for social prescribing to better integrate complementary therapy services into the NHS, and produce guidance to support health professionals and therapists in doing so.
3. The Department for Health and Social Care must undertake or fund research studies to demonstrate the value of integrating complementary therapy services into the NHS through social prescribing.  

For full report including references, please follow the link below. 

complementary_therapies_report_-_appg_january_2023.pdf (fht.org.uk)