The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, admitted yesterday he was concerned about people paying large sums of money to a doctor providing alternative treatment for cancer patients in Co Clare in the belief that they would be cured. Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent, reports.
Dr William Porter, who is unregistered, is involved in providing cytoluminescent therapy (CLT) to patients in Killaloe and claims that even those with advanced cancers can benefit.
The treatment costs €20,000 per patient and a review of 48 patients treated with CLT by Dr Porter in late 2002 and early 2003 found it to be "a qualified failure with a high incidence of after-effects". Some 17 of the patients were dead within six months.
The Medical Council, after reading the review published in a US medical journal, asked the Garda to investigate Dr Porter.
Yesterday, when asked what he proposed to do about unregistered doctors like Dr Porter, Mr Martin said there were difficulties legislating in this area.
He said if one attempted "to legislate out of existence a number of alternative therapies, there would be a virtual revolution".
Many practitioners such as those who practise homeopathy, he said, were practising in a bone fide way.
"You could inadvertently, if one is not careful with language, exclude people in terms of the law," he told The Irish Times.
"I think people have to inform themselves in terms of whether people are registered or not. I would urge people to consult their GPs on any alternative treatment that is being offered and get their GP's advice. That is the safest route," he said.
Furthermore, Mr Martin warned people about wonder cures.
"I note that many of Dr Porter's patients were at advanced stages of terminal illness and sometimes some of these therapies are advanced as a kind of wonder cure.
"Yet most of the medics I talk to make it clear to me that it would be unwise to go down that route or certainly there is no such thing as a miracle cure," he said.
He added that there was "some scope for tightening up the existing situation" in the new Medical Practitioners Act but cautioned against people thinking "legislation is a panacea for this type of behaviour".
At the end of the day people could go to anyone they liked and there were people who would persuade them they had something to sort out their problem, he said.
Dr Porter has claimed his CLT therapy has advanced since the review was published.
He said the Garda would be welcome to investigate his practice.