At Healing Qi Clinic, we welcome both walk-ins and advanced bookings. However, we highly recommend that patients book in advance to minimize waiting time and secure an appointment time and date that best suits their schedule. You can easily schedule an appointment through the various links available on our contact page, accessible from our home menu. Please note that while we aim to accommodate all inquiries, our main response times are during office hours. Booking ahead not only ensures that you receive timely care but also helps us provide the most efficient service possible.

At Healing Qi Clinic, a standalone consultation is designed to help you discover the most suitable treatments for your current condition. During the consultation, our experienced practitioners will assess your health and discuss various treatment options available. This session provides ample time for you to understand these options and make an informed decision about your next steps. If, on the day of the consultation, you feel well-informed and comfortable with the treatment options discussed, you have the flexibility to proceed with a session immediately. This ensures that you receive personalized care tailored to your specific needs.

At Healing Qi Clinic, ensuring your well-being is our top priority. For every follow-up session, we require a consultation to analyze your current condition. This step is crucial as it enables us to conduct a thorough risk management review and make an informed decision about your treatment plan. By reassessing your condition before each treatment, we can determine the most effective course of action and make any necessary adjustments to your treatment journey. This personalized approach is designed to maximize the benefits of your sessions and ensure you receive the most appropriate care for your evolving needs.

Yes, many health insurance plans cover acupuncture treatments, and Healing Qi Clinic is recognized by several insurers! To find out if you are eligible, I recommend you get in touch with your insurer. Your insurer will have a list of recognized and registered practitioners that they can accept reimbursement from. To find us, please refer to your insurance using our business name 'HQ Clinic' and our British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) License number: 960857. If you have any additional questions or need assistance, feel free to get in touch with us directly. We are enthusiastic about helping you on your journey to better health! It's important to note that we require payment upfront. We will then provide you with a valid invoice, which you can forward to your insurer for reimbursement. This process ensures a smooth reimbursement experience for you.

At Healing Qi Clinic, we require a £30 deposit to secure your appointment. This advanced payment ensures your slot is reserved and provides flexibility for rescheduling. If you need to change your appointment, you can do so with more than 24 hours' notice. After your session, this deposit will be deducted from your total bill. Please note that we allow cancellations with a minimum of 24 hours' notice for appointments booked ahead of time. For appointments booked within 24 hours period, you will also be required to pay the deposit to secure your booking. We process the deposit transaction via a payment link or by direct bank transfer. This step can also be done in person following a completed session, where you schedule in advance your next appointment.

In preparation for the day, we kindly ask you to take the following steps:  1. Wear loose, comfortable clothing on the day, or you may bring a spare set to change into, preferably sportswear shorts and a bra for females or shorts and a vest for males. Most of our treatment requires clothing that allows easy and comfortable access to areas such as above elbows, knees or lower back and neck. Rest assured, we will have a female chaperone present on the day for your convenience and comfort.  2. Please refrain from drinking alcohol 24hrs before any treatment as it can affect the effectiveness of the treatment and your overall experience. 3. Wear minimal makeup, especially if the session requires any treatment located on the face. Please be aware that the practitioner may have to remove any heavy makeup and disinfect these areas before we can begin the treatment.  4. Please wear minimal jewellery; easily removable jewellery is allowed. 5. We do provide shoe covers. However, the practitioner may need to insert needles into certain areas of your foot; therefore, please remove your shoes when asked during the session. 6. Pets are welcome. However, we only allow small pets, as our premises have strict rules for any larger pets for the safety of the other tenants.

There have been a number of scientific papers published on the safety of acupuncture These have concluded that acupuncture is safe so long as it is delivered by a properly trained individual. Therefore, we recommend that you ensure your acupuncturist belongs to a professional organisation such as the British Acupuncture Council. As acupuncture involves the insertion of needles there will sometimes be a small bruise or bleeding. Approximately 6% of people who have ten acupuncture sessions will report a bruise or minor bleeding. Occasionally, people can feel dizzy or nauseous during or after treatment and, on very rare occasions, may lose consciousness. Approximately 0.2% of people who have a course of 10 sessions of acupuncture will feel dizzy. Approximately 0.14% of people who have a course of 10 sessions of acupuncture will feel nauseous. In extremely rare cases (0.03%), people lose consciousness. Sometimes people feel tired after a treatment or experience headache, local muscle pain or strong pain during needling. These side effects are classed as ‘uncommon’, affecting up to 10 of every 1,000 people treated. The above effects are to some extent an unavoidable part of acupuncture. However, the risks can still be minimised. Please let your acupuncturist know if you feel hot, or the room is stuffy, or you are hungry/thirsty, or you are especially nervous. This should help reduce the chances of dizziness and nausea. Please also let them know any medications that you are taking, such as anti-coagulants. As the acupuncture involves piercing the skin there is a risk of infection at the needle site. The estimated risk is 1 to 10 of every 10,000 people treated. BAcC acupuncturists are trained, and bound by our Professional Codes, to provide acupuncture hygienically. Serious adverse events such as pneumothorax (piercing the lung/perforation of the lung lining) and nerve injury can occur. However, these are very rare, and the risk is reduced by seeing a well-trained acupuncturist. In 2.2 million treatments pneumothorax occurred twice and nerve injury 31 times. One of the people who had a pneumothorax needed hospital treatment, the other required observation only. The longest duration of any side- effect was 180 days (nerve injury). No permanent injuries or deaths were associated with the acupuncture treatments .

Try to keep the needle, cupping, moxa and guasha sites clean immediately after treatment. It is generally best to avoid strenuous activity after treatment. You may feel that you want to rest after treatment. Sometimes people feel a dull ache at the needle sites after treatment. This is normal and nothing to worry about.

"Our clinic guarantees that all needles are sterile and single-use disposable. This means we never reuse any needles, so you can rest assured that you will not be exposed to any danger or risk of cross-contamination. Our practitioners wear nitrate disposable blue gloves for hygiene and to prevent the spread of bacteria. We also thoroughly disinfect every acupuncture area before needling or any ancillary therapy to ensure that the site is bacteria-free. Our disinfection methods include: 1. 2% Chlorhexidine in 70% alcohol disinfectant swabs. 2. Povidone-iodine (PVP-I), also known as iodopovidone, is an antiseptic used for skin disinfection before and after treatment."