On behalf of the research team at Barnsley Hospital involved in the Homeopathy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome Study (HIBS), HRI would like to thank everyone who donated to our fundraising appeal last November, in support of this project.

There was a hugely positive response to our appeal, with many warm messages of support as well as donations which totalled just over £2,000. In these hard economic times, this was a fantastic response from individuals.

However, shortly after these funds were raised, changes at Barnsley Hospital meant that it would no longer be possible to carry out a second phase of the trial (involving recruitment of more patients) as intended. Instead, the aim now is to publish the existing HIBS trial results which, in the opinion of Prof Kate Thomas (an expert in Health Services Research) form a „robust pragmatic pilot study“.

After much discussion with stakeholders and those who made donations, the money raised by HRI will be used to provide seed funding for Jackie Raw RSHom (homeopath and HIBS project manager) to carry out a one-year prospective service evaluation of her work providing individualised homeopathic treatment for patients with IBS at Barnsley Hosp NHS Foundation Trust. Jackie would be aiming to treat ~ 30 patients and the total cost of the project has been estimated at £5,000.

This was agreed to be the best use of these funds, allowing Jackie to continue her work of assessing the value of treatment by a professional homeopath, delivered within an NHS setting.

We look forward to following the progress of this study over the next 18 months and keeping donors updated.

HRI Management Team