LOW COST ACUPUNCTURE
The low cost acupuncture clinic at the Corner Surgery on Coldharbour Lane was set up in 2012. I had approached the partners in some of the local GP practices, and found those at the Corner Surgery to be the most receptive.
My reasons for wanting to set up a low cost acupuncture clinic in south London were varied. I had graduated with a BSc in acupuncture in 2007 following four years of intense study. I worked in a few different clinics as I developed my practice over the following years – in East Dulwich, Dulwich Village, and Clapham. I finally found the spaces and the right clinic environments that worked for me and my clients and continue to work at the Greenwich Natural Health Centre and the Fairlee Wellbeing Centre in Battersea.
While I am very comfortable working in these two clinics and think that they provide wonderful spaces to encourage health and well-being, ever since graduating and setting up in practice, I had experienced some discomfort with charging people fees to help with the problems they came to the clinic with. Of course, my logical side told me that in order to live, eat, and function in society, I had to earn an income, and if I wanted to work as an acupuncturist, I needed to charge my clients. Colleagues I spoke with reminded me that I had spent a lot of time (and money) training to learn the skills I was now using. Nevertheless, my heart never felt quite comfortable with the financial side of running an acupuncture practice.
Low cost acupuncture clinic at the Corner Surgery SE5
After a few years, I decided that establishing a low cost acupuncture clinic might be a way to address these concerns. While I think my prices at the clinics where I work in Greenwich and Battersea are entirely reasonable and lower than some practitioners in London, I also realise that they are still prohibitive for people on low incomes. For a retail assistant on the minimum wage, no matter how much they wish to prioritise their health, the cost of a course of six treatments that might be necessary to adequately address their problem is a real stretch. Setting up a low cost acupuncture clinic seemed to make sense. Some colleagues in good faith disagreed with me and argued that if people are not willing to part with money to look after their health, it is a question of priorities. Certainly this may be the case for some, and all acupuncture practitioners have been faced with situations where people adorned with Tag Heuer watches or Prada handbags look at us with imploring eyes and demand that they be given a discount for treatment. That is another issue entirely. However, for somebody living on incapacity or unemployment benefit, probably the most they can stretch to is a single treatment at a full-priced clinic, and most issues take more than one treatment to address.
Treatment for knee pain at the low cost acupuncture clinic in south London
So with the support of the doctors and manager at the Corner Surgery, I established a low cost acupuncture clinic for the benefit of their patients and also the wider community. One of the first things we decided was that the clinic would be available to all, not just people registered at the surgery to really make acupuncture treatment available to all sections of the community. One of the partners suggested having a sliding scale system of payments based upon household income, which seemed like a sensible plan. So patients pay either £20, £30, or £40 for a treatment based upon the income of themselves and any spouse. Over the last five years, I have found the majority of people have fallen into the middle bracket, but I have also treated many from the other two brackets. Some people come not because it is a low cost acupuncture clinic but because the location is more convenient than my other clinics, and many of these end up paying the highest bracket.
Due to minimal overheads and the support of the Corner Surgery, I can treat people at these prices and still make a profit. I only work at the low cost acupuncture clinic for 6 – 8 hours a week, and the rest of my working week is spent at my other two clinics. However, what this low cost acupuncture clinic offers me is a chance to treat people who might otherwise not be able to come for acupuncture. Sometimes people in the Greenwich or Battersea area might contact me to find out a bit more about acupuncture and what it can offer them but are concerned by the cost. I always point out to all prospective clients that I run a low cost acupuncture clinic so that they have this option. If they are put off by the distance, then I do conclude that it is a commitment issue, rather than a purely financial one, and that is something they must decide for themselves. However, many are willing to travel a bit further as a means to benefiting their own physical/mental-emotional health and well-being.
While all the rigid health and safety standards demanded of a member of the British Acupuncture Council are adhered to, and indeed a GP surgery makes an ideal clinical environment, it is probably fair to say that the low cost acupuncture clinic is not quite as pretty or comfortable as my other clinics. There are no soft fluffy towels, and the treatment couches are functional rather than comfortable. Yet, it has a certain energy all of its own, which I think adds to the treatments. I enjoy working there in the same way that I enjoy working in my other clinics, and the contrasts make me appreciate both environments.
If you think you may be interested in the Corner Surgery low cost acupuncture clinic, you can find out more information here: http://www.londonacupuncturetherapy.co.uk/clinics/low-cost-acupuncture/
To find out more about whether acupuncture and the NHS: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Acupuncture/Pages/Introduction.aspx
