Homeopathic practitioners are offering patients alternatives to conventional vaccines that have not been clinically proven, an investigation has found.
Three homeopaths in Scotland told a BBC documentary they offer a treatment that is designed to replace the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Katie Jarvis, a homeopath in Inverness, told researchers that she offers 'homeopathic prophylaxis' to interested patients.
'The alternative that I would offer would be a homeopathic remedy made from diseased tissue, that comes from someone with that disease, and then made into potentised form so that is given in a homeopathic remedy,' she told the documentary.
'It can be given instead or as well as the vaccination.'
However, Ms Jarvis conceded that she could not prove the homeopathic treatment was safer than the MMR vaccine.
Doctors have described the practice as 'extremely worrying' and warned that patients could be left vulnerable to potentially fatal diseases.
Dr Vivienne Nathanson, director of science and ethics at the British Medical Association, told the BBC: 'Replacing proven vaccines, tested vaccines, vaccines that are used globally and we know are effective with homeopathic alternatives where there is no evidence of efficacy, no evidence of effectiveness, is extremely worrying because it could persuade families that their children are safe and protected when they're not.'
The documentary, which is due to be shown today (September 13th) at 19:30 BST on BBC One Scotland, also found that the Scottish NHS spends more money on homeopathy, per person, than the health service in England.
Dr Brian Kaplan, a fellow of the Faculty of Homeopathy, said that GPs should decide whether or not a patient will benefit from homeopathy for a particular condition.
Writing in the Scotsman, he claimed: 'No doctor who uses homeopathy would support the use of such treatment as a vaccination.
'This may be supported by some non-doctors using homeopathy, but it is not something the medical community would advocate.'