Calls for the UK to introduce a faith-based system of healthcare within the NHS have been dismissed by a primary care professor, who insists such an initiative would be "impractical".
Responding to claims that Muslims are suffering from a lack of faith-based services within the country's health system, Dr Aneez Esmail of the University of Manchester said that the NHS should not be required to provide specific services.
"In the NHS it seems reasonable that we try to plan and configure our services to take account of needs that may have their roots in particular beliefs," he commented.
"It is also right that we should not force Muslim and Jewish people to use poorly regulated male circumcision services," he continued.
"But that does not mean that the NHS should provide them - having an accredited list of doctors who have been trained to carry out the procedure may be the service that the NHS should provide."
Britain's Islamic population are known to suffer from higher levels of many medical conditions than other religious groups, including coronary heart disease, diabetes, obesity and respiratory problems.
Despite this, Dr Aziz Sheikh, professor of primary care research and development at the University of Edinburgh, believes that little is being done to improve Muslims' overall health.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, he said that steps should be taken to provide a number of faith services within all primary care trusts, including male circumcision, the option of seeing a same-sex doctor, and practitioners specifically trained to provide advice on the health risks of the Hajj pilgrimage.
© Adfero Ltd
Private treatment news : 12/01/2007
