SALT THERAPY NI CALLS FOR ‘RIGHTFUL PLACE’ AT THE TABLE WHEN IT COMES TO DECISION MAKING AROUND RESPIRATORY HEALTH IN NI
Sylvia Darragh is a holistic medicine practitioner and owner of Natural Salt Therapy Ltd based in Aghalee in Northern Ireland. She is one of five similar but independent business owners who make up the new Salt Therapy NI coalition. On behalf of its members, based in Omagh, Larne, Doagh and Banbridge, Sylvia explains why the group has formed.
Each of us agree, the number of people coming to us for treatment has steadily grown in recent times but there was a notable, sharp rise since September this year, particularly with families bringing in children and babies.
Traditionally the majority of people seeking Salt Therapy would refer with conditions such as COPD or asthma but now we are seeing more and more cases of RSV (Respiratory Syntical Virus), Strep A, chest infections, severe flu and pneumonia.
Last winter we worked long hours to accommodate as many people as possible and it did feel like a crisis situation. People are telling us they can’t get through to GP surgeries never mind face-to-face consultations with their doctor.
This is not a criticism of our dedicated medical practitioners here in NI. Post Covid, they are running on empty but still working flat out and around the clock to support patients as best they can under increasingly difficult circumstances.
It is simply a statement of fact on the underfunding of the National Health Service and the lack of a functioning Executive at Stormont that should be back to work alleviating some of the big issues NI is facing.
The stasis means that when people get ill, their conditions are becoming more severe and deteriorate very quickly.
Our clients tell us, they are being prescribed by phone call with repeat courses of anti-biotics with some taking up to four or five courses in a matter of months.
There have been warnings about their over-use for years and parents are rightly concerned about over medicating children.
Salt Therapy NI has come about because we believe deeply in this complementary therapy and as a group of five businesses, we are more powerful speaking together than apart.
Our purpose is threefold. We want to –
- Drive awareness and educate about the benefits of Salt Therapy
- Present a persuasive case to health decision makers about its merits
- Conduct new evidence based academic research
We want to drive awareness and educate about the benefits of Salt Therapy promoting its healing and restorative benefits to as many as possible. We know people are suffering and want to help.
In the coming months, we will be sharing our own stories and the successes of our clients across traditional and social media so people know about the relief Salt Therapy can bring and how they might access it.
So far, we have had stories placed in the Belfast Telegraph, Newsletter and Be Phenomenal Women’s Magazine with a further round of interviews, news and features planned.
Our activity is not about profit, it’s about what we can do to serve the public best following Covid and amidst the ongoing crisis in the health service.
In raising the general profile of this type of treatment, we hope to get the attention and buy-in of local health decision makers.
We want to meet with them and present a persuasive case about the merits of Salt Therapy and its capability to support traditional medicine.
Although research does already exist, Salt Therapy NI understand, evidence-based academicresearch is needed to put our best case forward. We are pro-actively seeking a partnership with Queen’s University Belfast and/or the University of Ulster to make that happen.
Pre-covid, communicating with the Assembly and Health Department proved difficult. For the last number of years, we have forwarded research and information particularly in relation to Long Covid clinics.
Details about Salt Therapy have been presented to our Committee for Health in addition to research from the Cochrane Library.
The Cochrane Library is a collection of databases that contain different types of high-quality, independent evidence to inform health-care decision making.
See attached link to latest research carried out in 2020.
This was before the Assembly collapsed closing all doors.
That’s why we are now taking to social media, print and broadcast platforms to get our message across.
If and when the Assembly does return, we will pick up pace again with relevant decision makers and the incoming Health Minister about how more help can and should be provided to respiratory sufferers in NI, particularly those less well off.
Our engagement strategy has begun. This week we will be holding meetings with Asthma+Lung UK to explain more about the benefits of Halo Therapy and set out our vision for Salt Therapy NI. The charity’s strapline is Breath is life – and it’s worth fighting for. We couldn’t agree more.
Salt Therapy NI also made its voice heard during the May local elections and was warmly received by local politicians at polling stations who have promised to ensure our consortium will have its rightful place at the table when it comes to adding value to discussions around respiratory health in NI.
We appreciate engagement from Asthma+Lung UK and the open-door attitude from local representatives such as Anne-Marie Logue, Liam Mackle and Dolores Kelly who will assist our representation on the Respiratory Forum for NI.
Salt Therapy NI is not claiming it to be a cure, but we and our customers know it can dramatically improve health, quality of life and reduces dependency on medication.
This type of treatment is already offered in a lot of countries, particularly eastern European where the benefits of Salt Therapy has been understood for many years.
More often than not, patients will be prescribed salt therapy for respiratory conditions before medication.
Treatments are often subsidised and free to the user with universal access to salt rooms in clinics, hospitals, workplaces, schools and nurseries.
This is our long-term ambition for NI where salt therapy treatment is available to all not just those who can afford it.
A model for Salt Therapy in the UK already exists. It has been approved by NHS England under its Continuing Health Care Plan.
For more information follow the link here.
It works by giving people a Personal Health Budget to spend on complementary therapies to improve quality of life and manage health conditions, thereby reducing their need for medication and hospital visits or stays.
https://saltcave.co.uk/adults/about-salt-therapy/8-about-salt-therapy/30-the-nhs-project.html
There is also evidence that Trusts in NI are referring patients to alternative health practices, such as massage therapy for cancer patients.
Makes sense, doesn’t it?
We want to see Salt Therapy recognised and subsidised by our Health Care System as a viable support therapy to improve respiratory health with positive effects on both mental and physical health for all adults and children in NI.
Thank you for reading. Watch out for more articles and stories to come from our group members on how we will build awareness, develop our credibility, and fund the necessary research.