A WOMAN suffering from multiple sclerosis joined a protest against Brent teaching Primary Care Trust (tPCT) cuts after it axed her homeopathic treatment.

Hirubala Gajjar, a Brent resident, needs a wheelchair to get around and her husband has to provide her with constant care.

She was receiving homeopathic treatment at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital and the treatment was funded by Brent tPCT.

But as the healthcare trust struggles to juggle its books and end the year in balance it decided to axe the service which costs £142,000 each year.

Hirubala's husband, Amrit, said: "The benefit of homeopathic treatment is that she was in a stable condition and there were no side effects.

"The other medicine, they might be helping her, but on the other side there are side effects so what is the point of curing one side but having other problems?"

Amrit said his wife had been able to sleep properly for the first time in years because of the homeopathic treatment she was receiving.

Angry patients carrying banners demonstrated outside the tPCT's headquarters in Chaplin Road, Wembley, on Monday before they met with trust chief executive Nigel Webb.

Caroline McGuane, a spokesman for the trust, explained: "This withdrawal of NHS funding from any form of homeopathy means that patients who still wish to access this service which has been assessed as not effective will therefore, like most people using the service and its products, have to fund it themselves."

Dr Peter Fisher, clinical director at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, said: "We can help people with the very difficult and challenging problems that people suffer from.

"We know that roughly 350 patients are affected by this cut."

Dr Fisher explained that the hospital helped people suffering from ailments ranging from colonic cancer, depression, muscular pain and irritable bowel syndrome.

But Mrs McGuane added: "Brent tPCT are willing to look at individual cases and should sound medical evidence back-up their wish to continue with the treatment they are currently receiving at the Homeopathic Hospital Brent tPCT will review individual cases."