GPs refer patients for Nutritional Therapy
Wonderful news. Your doctor can now refer you to see a Nutritional Therapist and other complementary healthcare practitioners. As part of a recent review, the General Medical Council (GMC) have made changes to GP referral guidelines and they can now refer patients requesting Nutritional Therapy to CNHC Registered Nutritional Therapists. This is a positive and significant move towards integrated healthcare provision to support patients with long-term chronic health conditions, weight loss and conditions triggered by poor lifestyle choices such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Nutritional Therapy is an effective evidence-based approach to supporting health through diet, nutrition, supporting nutrients and functional foods.
Miguel Toribio-Mateas, Chairman of the British Association for Applied Nutrition & Nutritional Therapy (BANT) commented:
“Following the recent Professional Standards Authority report, the GMC announcement is more excellent news for Registered Nutritional Therapists and should bring greater recognition of the role that our profession can play in providing holistic health care. CNHC registration gives reassurance to the public and other healthcare practitioners that our members are professional and knowledgeable and we welcome the GMC’s acknowledgement of this.”
Currently, this doesn’t automatically mean that NHS funding will be available, although much is being done to promote this for the future. However some private health insurers such as PruHealth and Healthshield cover Nutritional Therapy already. Please check with your provider.