The Multi-bed clinic is open every Saturday morning from 9.30am until 1.30pm. It takes place in the Mulberry Room in the grounds of the International College of Oriental Medicine in East Grinstead. Appointments last for approximately one hour.

The Multi-bed format is an attempt to widen access to affordable acupuncture. The initial appointment costs £45, but subsequent appointments only cost £30, which is approximately half the cost of a standard acupuncture appointment. During the initial appointment, you will have a full hour with Gillie or her colleague, Laima. During follow on appointments, your practitioner may be seeing another patient while you are resting for 20-30 minutes with the needles in. Screens allow for a measure of privacy, but patients need to be aware that some conversation may be overheard if other patients are in the room.

This approximates the way that acupuncture is practised in China, where treatment in a hospital setting is cheap and frequent, but possibly less personal than clinic treatments in the United Kingdom. However, it is a good compromise solution for patients whose conditions would optimally be treated on a regular basis but who do not have the funds to spend at least £60 a week on alternative therapy.

For more information and appointments, please visit ICOM clinic or contact: clinic@orientalmed.ac.uk or call 01342 313106