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Abstract
Multi-bed acupuncture clinics - a recent and successful phenomenon in the UK - utilise a new business model for the provision of more affordable acupuncture treatments. Patients benefit from reduced cost of treatment in exchange for some loss of privacy, and they overwhelmingly report being treated in a communal setting as a positive experience. Practitioners benefit from a highly stimulating and supportive working environment, a significantly increased potential client base and the satisfaction of providing more accessible treatment.
Keywords: Acupuncture, multi-bed clinic, affordable, community.
Acupuncture treatment in the UK has predominantly been provided by a single practitioner treating one patient at a time in a private room, and usually staying with the patient throughout the whole treatment, which might be expected to last 45-60 minutes in total. This is in contrast to China, where cost- and patient- effective treatment models have evolved over the centuries to the current practice whereby patients usually receive acupuncture treatment in large rooms containing several beds. These effectively resemble the wards found in conventional hospitals, although in this case they are used for out-patients. Thus one or more doctors may treat several patients simultaneously. Of all Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM), acupuncture uniquely lends itself to this style of practice, as needles usually have to be left in the body for 10-30 minutes. During this time, as the patient rests, the doctor is free to treat another patient.
The first well-established clinic following a multi-bed model in the UK was the Gateway Clinic, London. Founded by John Tindall in 1990, the clinic is funded by the National Health Service's (NHS) Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Primary Care Trust (PCT), and lies in the grounds of Lambeth Hospital. In 2004-5 the clinic received ?94,000 of funding and treated over 400 patients per week (Thomson, 2005), working out at a fee of ?4.52 per patient per treatment. All patients must be referred by a general practitioner within the local catchment area and can receive a maximum of 12 free treatments per referral. Patients with HIV and Hepatitis C are given priority, can jump the waiting list which is often several months, and can receive unlimited treatments. Recently, due to constant high demand and an ever-expanding waiting list, the clinic has...