No, not at all - but as I said, if they ARE BAcC registered then you are covered by their Codes of Practise. That at least gives you some peace of mind. The BAcC is one of the major regulating body for Acupuncture in the UK - the British Academy of Western Acupuncture is another (although not one which is as commonly found). The other two relate to Medical Acupuncture and Physiotherapists - who are already bound by their own Codes of Practise. These 4 are the bodies working towards statutory regulation with the governmental departments. (And the sooner it IS regulated, the better IMO).
There ARE charlatans out there, working with no training at all - that is a fact - and that is a scary thought for anyone looking for a practitioner. The same as with any CAM therapy - everyone is advised to check the practitioners details.
Perhaps I should have worded it better to include the phrase used on TV ads - that "other regulating bodies are available".
I see where you are coming from - and my phraseology was not the best it could have been - so my apologies for that - it was not my intention to imply what you have perceived from my previous post. In fact - I will resist the urge to post in future unless it is something I can do so without causing offence. Probably better.
Yes, it is up to the individual to check out a practitioners qualifications, but it is not difficult for people to produce bogus certificates and insurance details is it?
So - to re-phrase my previous statement - for the purposes of harmony -
"As long as your new practitioner is BAcC registered, (or registered with any other of the regulating bodies for Acupuncture) you have at least their Codes of Practise to be reassured by, and know they are qualified, and insured as opposed to charlatans. The other essential thing to check is that a practitioner is licenced by their Local Authority - as this is required by law, and the Local Authority will have seen copies of qualifications & insurance details along with checking the premises are clean and of standard. (I do however realise that within London the regulations are different, so people would need to check with the appropriate regulatory bodies)."