CHOOSING AN ACUPUNCTURIST

The term “acupuncturist” is not at present legally protected in the same way that “osteopath”, “solicitor”, or “dietitian” is. There are historic reasons for this, which include the number of regulatory bodies for the profession that once proliferated. Unfortunately, the result of this is that anybody could put a sign up in a shop window tomorrow and call themselves an acupuncturist regardless of their level of training.

The British Acupuncture Council is the gold standard of professional conduct and standards. My recommendation to family and friends is to never have treatment from an acupuncturist who is not among their 3, 500 strong membership. An acupuncturist who is a licensed member of the BAcC will have undergone rigorous three-year training to degree level (some older members may have a diploma rather than a degree, which only became a pre-requisite in the last decade). They will be fully-insured and will operate to a code of safe practice that far exceeds statutory health and safety guidelines.