To finish the H.A.C. course and qualify with a certificate of competence (HAcCC) you must complete a minimum 18 of the 20 days and pass the assessments. This certificate will enable you to obtain insurance to practice.
Currently acupuncture is unregulated in the UK and there is no legally recognised authority or accreditation body. Acupuncturists are regulated to the extent that they are bound by local council rules regarding their premises and health and safety in a similar way to tattooists. Doctors who do a couple of weekends learning acupuncture join the BMAS (British Medical Acupuncture Society) which is somewhat ironically the best known and recognised group. There are various other independent groups like the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) which runs the BAAB (British Acupuncture Accreditation Board) and another called the Association of Chinese Medicine. These are bodies who set their own standards for accrediting courses or for recognising people trained in China. We are not as sophisticated as the BAAB in our documentation but you should bear in mind that none of this has any legal weight anyway. Everyone sets their own standards as we do for our 6 month course.
There has been a public consultation about the regulation of acupuncture recommending legislation and we are about to have another one so nothing will happen quickly. The Shipman case and others have shown that regulation cannot guarantee public safety and any code of conduct is complex to implement. The Department of Health thinks that acupuncture might be regulated by 2012 but don't hold your breath! When (if) regulation comes established acupuncturists will have to apply to be included in the register and demonstrate their competence regarding public safety. We are confident that our students will reach the standard and will strongly argue our case as will other bodies who train people in acupuncture. But at the moment no-one, including the BAcC (of which Jamie was a member until 2008) can say exactly what will happen or when.