Pseudoscience in Cancer Services; a survey of National Health Service Trusts in England

Abstract

Scientifically implausible treatments are offered by some hospital cancer departments. Examples are reiki, aromatherapy, and reflexology. Salaried practitioners are employed to deliver these therapies, which are provided as palliative care, although they lack evidence of effectiveness. Such practices seem to conflict with efforts to make health care evidence based. The aim of this survey was to estimate the extent of certain pseudoscientific practices in cancer care departments in NHS hospitals in England, and to evaluate the rationale for such provision. Relevant documents were requested from NHS Trusts under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). Main outcome measures were: number of trusts offering pseudoscientific practices in cancer departments, time to full FOIA response, presence and content of practice governance documents, and presence and quality of evidence for practices. 13.6% of eligible NHS trusts were offering pseudoscientific clinical practices. No trust provided a valid business case, or any robust evidence for the practices. The governance documents included claims about chakras, meridians, and invisible energy. Ten trusts required that informed consent be obtained from patients. This could not have been obtained because information given was misleading. Conclusions Pseudoscientific practices are embedded in the NHS in England, and governance documents show poor understanding of clinical evidence.