Haywards Heath clinic encourages residents to consider treatment to take pressure off NHS

The acupuncture team at The Perrymount Clinic in Haywards Heath are encouraging residents experiencing pain to consider treatment at the clinic.
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Rachel Sherriff, Helen Were and Ben Prentice at the clinic in Hurstwood Lane, issued the advice to coincide with World Acupuncture Day, which was marked last Thursday (November 15).

Rachel said: “We are trying to encourage people to come to us to take some pressure off the NHS.

Rachel Sherriff, Helen Were and Ben Prentice at The Perrymount Clinic in Haywards Heath. Photo by Steve RobardsRachel Sherriff, Helen Were and Ben Prentice at The Perrymount Clinic in Haywards Heath. Photo by Steve Robards
Rachel Sherriff, Helen Were and Ben Prentice at The Perrymount Clinic in Haywards Heath. Photo by Steve Robards
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“There is just so much in the news at the moment about people who can’t get an appointment.”

It was announced last Thursday that a number of acupuncturists will be writing to their GPs to highlight the wealth of evidence showing that acupuncture is a valid healthcare choice.

It comes as chronic underfunding and workforce shortages have led to enormous pressure on the NHS with clinicians struggling to meet rising demand.

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Mark Bovey, head of research at the British Acupuncture Council, said Chinese medicine was a viable option and could help the NHS deal with some of the pressures.

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He said: “More than 1,000 studies are carried out globally each year into the effectiveness of acupuncture, so evidence is emerging all the time to show that it works.

“The evidence is particularly strong in the treatment of pain and, with one in five people in Europe living with moderate to severe chronic pain, acupuncture can make a real difference to patients with low back pain, headache and migraine and osteoarthritis. In some cases it has even been shown to be more effective than pharmaceuticals.

“Moreover, the world is also grappling with rising problem of opioid addiction, so clinicians have a real opportunity to explore other treatment options for pain.”

He added: “There is also clinical evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating anxiety which research suggests affects up to one in three people, and a whole range of other conditions such as infertility, constipation, rhinitis and depression.

“If GPs referred patients for acupuncture for just some of these conditions the pressure on the health service would be dramatically alleviated.”