Acupuncturists in Warwickshire 'frightened' by rise in short courses putting patients 'at risk'

Many acupuncturists believe short courses are putting patients at risk, whilst others believe they are sufficient to teach health and safety procedures, as Hannah Ludlow reports.

Acupuncturists in Warwickshire are warning of a rise in the number of short courses being offered to those looking to learn the trade.

The World Health Organisation recommends a minimum of 3600 hours of training, but some practitioners are being granted licences with as few as 96 hours.

"It really frightens us"

Michelle Venter teaches at The Acupuncture Academy in Leamington Spa, where students undertake a three-year degree before becoming fully qualified.

The Academy is one of seven locations in England which offer accredited courses under the British Acupuncture Council - a voluntary regulated board which is endorsed by the NHS.

Michelle says her students choose to do a degree because they care about providing high-quality treatment to their patients. She fears those with short-course qualifications do not have a thorough understanding of safety.

Michelle Venter teaches a three year degree course at The Acupuncture Academy, and details some of the dangers associated with acupuncture.

Ms Venter said: "We keep seeing more of these short courses popping up on social media, and it really frightens us.

"It’s also worrying for us, because we are seeing more and more people coming with more medical conditions that are more scary and mental health crises.

"Our students are educated on how to deal with that and where to refer to but also when to stop treatment and when someone might need to be referred elsewhere."

What is acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a traditional practice where needles are inserted into the body to relieve pain. The needles are so fine that most people do not feel them being inserted.

It is commonly used to treat pain, including chronic pain, headaches, migraines, neck and back pain, and joint and muscle pain.

Acupuncture comes under the same bracket as tattooing and piercing, and is not on the Allied Health List.

Timeline of acupuncture

100BC - Study of acupuncture begins in China

1950s - Acupuncture begins to be taken seriously in Britain

1982 - Acupuncture becomes available on the NHS, but access is still and most people seek private alternatives

1999 - The World Health Organisation publishes the Guidelines on Basic Training and Safety in Acupuncture, including a minimum of 3600 hours of training.

Late 2000s - Attempts are made to gain statutory regulation for acupuncture, but these are rejected by the government

"I said to her, I can't take this anymore"

Rachel Genner practices acupuncture at home in Warwick. She used to be a primary school teacher, but had a career change following a negative experience of acupuncture.

The mother-of-two had suffered from migraines from the age of 12, so when she was offered acupuncture, she was keen to try it.

Rachel remembers: “I just assumed that she would have done a course that gave her the skills and knowledge she needed to do acupuncture. 

"She put about 20/25 needles just in the top of my neck, the top of my shoulders, but they became really painful and I said to her I can't take it anymore. Can you take them out?"

Acupuncture is not meant to be painful, so after doing some research, Rachel visited another acupuncturist and had successful treatment.

She then decided to train at The Acupuncture Academy, and now wants to highlight the importance of checking a practitioner's qualifications before agreeing to treatment.

She says: “It’s really frightening to know that there are people out there doing these short courses.

"If I would have known how I was going to feel after that session, I would have never gone for that session, I would have done my research and gone to a practitioner who has the full qualifications.”

"We feel confident offering an alternative to the degree course"

Jamie Hedger runs a course in acupuncture at The Healing & Acupuncture College in Bath. He argues that a shorter course can still teach students to become safe and qualified practitioners.

Jamie says: "The most important part of acupuncture training is to ensure that students fully understand and can practice appropriate health and safety procedures.

"It doesn’t take long to learn this, and once students have demonstrated competence they are ready to develop their skills of diagnosis and practice."

Jamie added: "Our core course ensures that students are safe and skilled at diagnosis, point location and needle skills. Students are assessed with a written and a practical exam with an independent examiner.

"We believe that our 10 month 337+ hour course is quite sufficient to ensure that a good safe standard is achieved because it includes 130 practical hours.

"We don’t believe that courses over one weekend are sufficient, but we do feel confident in offering an alternative to the 3-year degree courses."

"No one's doing background checks"

Anyone wanting to practice acupuncture can apply for a licence from the council. The application form requires an applicant to list how they intend to cleansing their premises, fittings and equipment, and sterilise their instruments.

An inspector will then visit the premises to examine the equipment, hygiene facilities and cleanliness.

Michelle from The Acupuncture Academy wants the checks to become more thorough, as she believes they do not go far enough to protect the public.

She says: “Councils are giving these people that have done really short courses their licences, and the general public are trusting that these people are qualified.

"But they’re not checking, no one’s actually doing background checks on each person and what their qualifications are.

"Councils are just going out and checking that the room’s safe, that they’ve got sharps boxes, but they’re not checking the amount of hours they’ve done in practice.”

Alex Jacobs, CEO of the British Acupuncture, echoes Michelle's views. He says that councils "don’t help the public differentiate between different levels of training.

"Therefore you don’t know if your practitioner who might be licensed maintains minimum standards of hygiene, and can safely needle a patient and is a trusted healthcare practitioner.”

Mr Jacobs also has three recommendations for the government, who he wants to:

1. More strongly support existing systems of regulation and increase public awareness

2. Recognise the role of accredited registers in addressing the NHS workforce crisis

3. Review an outdated licensing scheme

In response, a spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care said it is "currently considering next steps on professional regulation and will set these out in due course.”

The previous Conservative government ran a consultation last year which proposed that there should be a licensing scheme for procedures like acupuncture.

Warwick District Council has said it will welcome those new powers, should they be introduced.

It added: "Persons wishing to practice acupuncture in the district must currently comply with the Warwick District Byelaw, made under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.

"Warwick District Council (WDC) is waiting on the outcome of the Governments consultation on the licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England.

"The consultation recognises the concerns raised by beauty professionals (including those raised in your enquiry) as well as concerns raised by regulators about the potential dangers to the public.

"The consultation proposes that there should be a licensing scheme that ensures those who offer procedures, such as acupuncture, are sufficiently knowledgeable, trained, and qualified."

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