Homeopathy UK opened its new Virtual Clinic at the end of May 2022. It offers free consultations via Zoom and Skype from anywhere in the UK. The clinic is headed up by GP and homeopath Dr Gabriella Day MFHom who explains why alternative approaches to medicine are needed more than ever post pandemic…
I was introduced to homeopathy at an early age by my grandmother who was a vet. She told me about the amazing results she’d had treating animals. She also gave me and my siblings remedies to treat stings, bruises and other minor ailments.
When I became a doctor, I started to realise that conventional medicine didn’t always have the answer. Understanding that conventional medicine suppresses symptoms – whereas homeopathy addresses a fundamental disturbance – was also a key moment for me. I turned to homeopathy to help those patients who were not improving with conventional treatment.
The pandemic has made it harder to access healthcare
Post Covid-19, we find ourselves in a unique healthcare situation. The pandemic has wreaked havoc on people’s lives in so many ways, some obvious and some less so. The loss of precious healing connections with family and friends has been well documented, but I believe a further side effect has been the loss of people’s faith in their own healing abilities.
This has led to a sharp increase in anxiety and depression which now seem to be everywhere. In Krishnamurti’s words, ‘It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society’. Once we recognise the dysfunctional nature of our society, we can recognise that it’s not the individual who is wrong, but rather the environment in which they are struggling to function.
The pandemic has led to an increase in dis-ease that conventional medicine is not well-placed to address. Demands on the NHS have escalated, and this has made it harder for many people to access care. Right now, the state of the nation’s health is not in great shape, but I do believe we have the tools to correct this.
Homeopathy guides the body back to its natural state of health
Complementary and alternative approaches to health are key to this. Homeopathy recognises the innate wisdom of the body. It seeks to guide it back to its natural state of health rather than trying to shoehorn it into society’s standardised version of it. During a homeopathic consultation, I look for subtle cues to a significant, unique aspect of an illness. We strike gold when a patient steps off the beaten track and begins to describe their condition in a way they haven’t before. This is what makes the journey so valuable in a way that other systems of medicine do not. We’re really venturing into uncharted territory.
Virtual appointments work well
The new Virtual Clinic provides homeopathic care to people who might otherwise struggle to access it. This may be due to financial limitations made worse by the cost-of-living crisis, or because there are no registered practitioners nearby. It could also be because a patient is fearful of face-to-face consultations. Either way, my aim is to clearly define a patient’s problem and address it in a way that is unique to them. I have done many virtual consultations since lockdown and they work really well – they are so easy for the patient. Face-to-face appointments may be the ideal, but the most important thing is for patients to be able to access treatment.”
To book a virtual appointment with Dr Gabriella Day click here
