A YEAR after North-East NHS bosses dropped homeopathy from an award-winning alternative health project, there are plans to publish research which suggests they were mistaken.

The research is expected to show that homeopathy was one of the most effective alternative therapies used as part of a pioneering scheme in Newcastle and should be reinstated.

This latest row over the value of homeopathy as a therapy follows last week's row between British scientists and the Prince of Wales.

A letter signed by 13 scientists, mostly surgeons, called on all NHS trusts to reject funding for "unproven or disproved treatments", including homeopathy.

In response, the Prince of Wales argued that long-established alternative treatments can assist healing along with conventional medicine.

Now Pat Haggie, a North-East homeopath, has revealed that she is planning to publish the results of research into the role of homeopathy in an award-winning Newcastle alternative health project.

The project, which involved the NHS paying for hundreds of patients to have a range of alternative health therapies in parts of the deprived West End of Newcastle, won the NHS Acorn Award in 2004 for integrating conventional medicine with complementary therapy. This included osteopathy, homeopathy, acupuncture, aromatherapy, therapeutic massage and chiropractice.

Research into the scheme found that 96 per cent of patients were satisfied with their service and 62 per cent were "extremely satisfied".

A study of the medical records of 70 Newcastle patients who opted to have complementary therapy found a 39 per cent reduction in prescriptions, saving the NHS £4,500 and a 31 per cent reduction in the number of GP consultations, representing a further saving of £10,000.

The project has been dramatically scaled down and homeopathy and therapeutic massage have been dropped.

Mrs Haggie, who lives in Haydon Bridge, Northumberland, said: "We got the award just before our funding was cut off. It is very sad. We were inundated with referrals. People really wanted this form of therapy."

Dr Michael Dixon, chairman of the NHS Alliance, representing health care workers in primary care, urged Newcastle Primary Care Trust to think again about its policy towards homeopathy.

A trust spokeswoman said: "The trust is looking at the evidence put forward for the use of any alternative therapy and will base its decision on that evidence."