The following statement was issued on the British Acupuncture Council forum in February 2011. It reflects the high standard of management of the British Acupuncture Council and it’s relationship with the Ministry of Health. (Well done in particular to Mike O’Farrel – who is retiring and has done sterling work for us as Chairman for some years).
Written ministerial statement regarding statutory regulation of practitioners of acupuncture, herbal medicine and traditional Chinese medicine
17 February 2011
The Department of Health yesterday announced plans to bring in statutory regulation of herbal practitioners with the Health Professions Council (HPC) from April 2012. Within these plans, the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) is pleased that the Government has stated that it believes self-regulation of acupuncture is robust and meets the needs of the public.
Over the years, BAcC has been at the forefront of benchmarking the educational standards of acupuncture, as well as establishing a Code of Safe Practice to which all our members are bound, to ensure patients receive the highest standard of professional care during their acupuncture treatment.
We are extremely proud therefore that the BAcC and its members have received external endorsement from the Government for its voluntary regulation measures.
The Government has outlined in its recent White Paper that statutory regulation is not within its overall strategy. Over the long term, the BAcC will continue to campaign for statutory regulation for acupuncture. The Government does however recognise it needed to respond to EC (European Commission) requirements for properly regulating herbal and Chinese medicine and acknowledges the fact that nobody would be able to practise unless such regulations were in place. The BAcC welcomes such measures.