Sir, - I would like to express my extreme disappointment in Dr Roger Fisken's damning comments on alternative medicine (D&S, June 22).

His display of ignorance can be seen on many counts. The natural forms of healthcare to which he refers are rarely used as an alternative to orthodox medical treatments.

Alternative medicine has in recent years changed to become complementary medicine and as a result of this enlightenment good working relationships are evolving between well qualified complementary therapists and the more forward thinking medical staff.

Surely Dr Fisken has only to look at the ever increasing use of complementary therapies in cancer care to realise their benefits.

Complementary medicine works by treating the whole person, it aims to benefit a person's mind, body and spirit. Who can claim that physical illness does not affect their mental/emotional state?

This outdated view expressed by such a well-respected consultant physician is disillusioning for his patients and deprives them of a "whole package" of healthcare.

Sadly it is also discouraging for other members of staff and patients at the Friarage hospital, many of whom rely on their own particular choice of therapy to help them manage their lives as best they can.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED AND WITHHELD BY AGREEMENT

Sir, - Dr Roger Fisken attacks all alternative therapies because he has rescued one man whose daughter had given him homoeopathic remedies (D&S, June 22).

Well, that's hardly scientific, is it?

Has he counted the number of people that every homoeopath has "rescued" from the damage done to them by the medical profession? Probably not.

Dr Fisken has a very scant knowledge of complementary therapies if he thinks that any of them suggest sacrificing goats at midnight or that they are based on superstition or witchcraft.

His credibility is in jeopardy if he chooses to ignore the benefits of complementary therapies which an increasing number of people are experiencing.

All homoeopaths will advise their clients to seek medical advice if their symptoms suggest it. Similar advice is given on self-help leaflets. If someone chooses to ignore that advice then it may suggest a certain lack of faith in the medical profession - which is hardly surprising when it is represented by such outdated and prejudiced opinion.

PAT WEST

Homoeopath

Countersett,

Bainbridge,

Sir, - I'm sure many D&S Times readers will have, as I do, personal reasons for supporting homoeopathy, despite Dr Frisken's contemptuous dismissal of it (D&S, June 22).

I suffered from colitis for 12 years; it was sometimes worse, sometimes better, but conventional medicine proved quite unable to cure it. In 1974 a homeopath prescribed chamomilla; this proved effective, and I have been almost entirely colitis-free ever since.

Superstition, mumbo-jumbo, and Dr Frisken's other targets are definitely undesirable. So is his brand of know-it-all arrogance.

Sir JAMES GRAHAM

Norton Conyers,

Nr Ripon.

Poor consultation

Sir, - Today I attended the first public meeting on the public health consultation

The proposal is to establish a Hambleton and Richmondshire primary care trust and to transfer the management services of the Friarage to the South Tees hospitals NHS trust. Whilst some questions were asked, and concerns expressed by the general public present, the attendance was abysmal.

It is vital that doctors and staff operating the consultation process should be aware of the public's views and this consultation has received hardly any publicity at all.

G KANE

Brentwood,

Leyburn