GLENN HODDLE could only approve. The National Health Service has funded research by GPs to see if faith healers really work.
Two surgeries have referred patients to spiritual healers to assess the benefits of the treatment. Both projects, involving a total of 60 patients, have concluded that the healers helped the majority of those treated.
"I was extremely sceptical about it and only looked at it because patients said they had improved after treatment by a healer," said Dr Michael Dixon, whose research is published this month in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
"However daft it seems to some people, this is an effective treatment and it has no side effects. It's extraordinary how accepting patients were when I suggested trying a healer, although some did say no."
In Dixon's research at his surgery in Cullompton, Devon, 22 of the 27 patients reported an improvement in their symptoms after a 10-week course. The two-year project, supported by about ?4,000 of NHS funds from the Family Health Services Authority, focused on patients who had been unwell for six months with ailments such as arthritis, depression, stress, psoriasis and eczema. The healers were not paid, but their expenses were met with research funds.
Anita Corbin, 39, had psoriasis for three years and tried various remedies to get rid of it. "I didn't have any preconceived idea of whether it would work, but the healing got rid of it completely within 12 weeks. The healer would just move her hands over me, but without making contact," she said.
Others believe the NHS is wasting money. Dr Thurstan Brewin of the charity HealthWatch, which campaigns for better health consumer information, said the money could be better spent in more traditional areas of medical research.
"People think that just because you have got a lot of grateful patients, it's doing them good. It's just not true. It's worrying that people are spending time and money on something that isn't going to make any real progress. The money would be better spent researching treatments that are more likely to be effective," he said.
Faith healing has enjoyed an enormous growth in popularity in recent years and it is estimated there are 14,000 healers practising in Britain. Last week Hoddle, the England football manager, announced that he had appointed Eileen Drewery, a faith healer, to help his players prepare for the World Cup. Other celebrities reported to have sought the help of a healer include Cherie Booth, the prime minister's wife, comedian Harry Enfield and June Brown, the actress who plays Dot Cotton in EastEnders.
Complementary medicine, which includes acupuncture and osteopathy, is already taught to medical students in some hospitals and spiritual healing is now being taken more seriously by the medical profession.
"There is a huge shift among doctors to refer patients to complementary therapies and that includes spiritual healing," said Dr Craig Brown, who is a GP and president of the National Federation of Spiritual Healers.
Some surgeries even hold faith-healing sessions at their practices. It is believed there are about 10 healers currently working in GPs' surgeries, although they are not paid out of NHS funds.
Dawn Redwood, who works at a surgery in Crediton, Devon, said: "I believe the healing source is divine, but my training is non-denominational. People do find the treatment we give to be beneficial and we are grateful to the medical profession for allowing us to work closely with them."
The Sunday Times 26/04/98
