Kristen Davies, actress from Sex in the City uses acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. To find a highly qualified practitioner, ensure you go to the British Acupuncture Council at www.acupuncture.org.uk/find

Dr Mike and Dr Louise think acupuncture is a good treament for morning sickness.

GP and medical broadcaster Dr Hilary JOnes thinks  osteopathy, acupuncture and meditation all have a role to play in mainstream practice.

Alice White recalling her experience of developing glandular fever and successful treatment.

The Northern College of Acupuncture are running a special offer as part of Acupuncture Awareness Week - 10 lucky people will get reduced fees for a complete course of treatment for insomnia, headaches or muscle pain.

The British Acupuncture Council's Governing Board (GB) is made up of five practitioner members and four lay representatives.
The GB oversees the work of the BAcC and agrees the Council's position regarding negotiations with government and statutory bodies. The Board ensures that the BAcC meets its constitutional responsibilities: maintaining a professional register of members, setting and overseeing professional standards of safe, ethical and competent practice, supporting developments in education and training, and encouraging research into traditional acupuncture.

The GB is helped by a number of subcommittees and advisory groups working on specific areas, including finance, education, professional conduct, and research. Lay representation throughout ensures that the BAcC's processes for developing policies and guidelines are fair, transparent, free from bias, and serve the public interest at all times. Members of all BAcC committees agree to abide by the seven key principles of public office - the Nolan Principles. Please contact us for an up-to-date list of BAcC subcommittees and advisory groups.
At every meeting of the GB each member is required to declare any conflicts of interest. The Board regularly reviews its good governance practice

BAcC Governing Board meeting dates for 2013

Tuesday 12 Feb
Wednesday 12 June
Friday 20 September: BAcC AGM
Thursday 17 October

Suggested dates for 2014, tbc

Tuesday 11 February
Wednesday 11 June
Thursday 16 October

Current practitioner members on the BAcC Governing Board

• Ron Bishop
• Charles Buck (interim chair)
• Dr Ming Cheng
• Deb Connor (co-opted for February and June meetings)
• Norman Savigar

Current lay representatives on the BAcC Governing Board

• David Abrahams
• Charles Cecil
• Lucilla Evers
• Donald Watson

The day-to-day work of the BAcC is carried out in our West London office by a small team, led by Chief Executive Nick Pahl. Many of the staff are qualified acupuncturists who also offer skills in other specialist areas; the rest of the team bring vital knowledge and experience from other fields of business. This wide spread of expertise helps us provide rapid and authoritative responses to members of the public.

The BAcC funds several important initiatives including: the British Acupuncture Accreditation Board (BAAB), an independent body responsible for setting standards in teaching institutions providing undergraduate training in acupuncture; the Acupuncture Research Resource Centre (ARRC), which provides information, advice and support on research to acupuncturists; the European Journal of Oriental Medicine (EJOM), published twice a year. The BAcC is also a founder member of the European Traditional Chinese Medicine Association (ETCMA).

The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) was passed in order to implement the European Data Protection Directive and applies to all personal data which are held either electronically or in a manual filing system.

The British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) is committed to a policy of protecting the rights and freedoms of individuals with respect to the processing of their personal data.

The BAcC holds personal information about individuals such as employees, members, applicants, subcontractors, suppliers and others, defined as 'data subjects' in the Act. Such data must only be processed in accordance with this policy. Any breach of the policy may result in the BAcC, as the registered 'data controller', being liable in law for the consequences of the breach. This liability may extend to the individual processing the data, and to his/her line manager under certain circumstances.

Principles

All data users must comply with the eight data protection principles. The principles define how data can be legally processed. 'Processing' includes obtaining, recording, holding or storing information and carrying out any operations on the data, including adaptation, alteration, use, disclosure, transfer, erasure, and destruction.

1. Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully.
2. Personal data shall be held only for one or more specified and lawful purposes and shall not be further processed in any manner incompatible with that purpose or purposes.
3. Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose for which it is processed.
4. Personal data shall be accurate and where necessary kept up to date.
5. Personal data processed for any purpose shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose.
6. Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data subject under the DPA.
7. Appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of the data.
8. Personal data shall not be transferred to a country or a territory outside the European Economic Area unless that country or territory ensures an adequate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of data subjects in relation to the processing of personal data.

The DPA defines both 'personal data' and 'sensitive personal data'. Data users must ensure that the necessary conditions are satisfied for the processing of personal data and in addition that the extra, more stringent, conditions are satisfied for the processing of sensitive personal data.

Personal data has a broad ranging definition and can include not only items such as home and work address, age, telephone number and schools attended but also photographs and other images. Sensitive personal data consists of racial/ethnic origin, political opinion, religious or similar beliefs, trade union membership, physical or mental health or condition, sexual life and criminal record.

Responsibilities of data users

All members of BAcC staff, Board members, committee members and subcontractors have a responsibility to ensure compliance with the Act and this policy, and to develop and encourage good information handling practices, within their areas of responsibility. All users of personal data within the BAcC have a responsibility to ensure that they process the data in accordance with the eight data protection principles and the other conditions set down in the DPA.

The BAcC will perform periodic audits to ensure compliance with this policy and the Act and to ensure that the notification is kept up to date.

Designated data controller

The BAcC's HR and facilities manager is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Data Protection Act and implementation of this policy on behalf of the BAcC. She can be contacted at:

British Acupuncture Council
63 Jeddo Road
London W12 9HQ

020 8735 0400
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Access to data

The Act gives data subjects a right to access personal data held about them by the BAcC, and allows the BAcC to charge a fee for such access (up to a prescribed maximum). The BAcC will seek to take an approach which facilitates access to their personal data by individuals without them having to make formal subject access requests under the Act, whilst acting within the data protection principles. A record must be kept of all requests for access to personal data.

All formal subject access requests must be responded to within the terms laid down by the Act, and must be notified to the chief executive and HR and facilities manager as soon as they are received.

The BAcC aims to comply with requests for access to personal information as quickly as possible but will ensure that it is provided within 40 days of receipt of a request unless there is good reason for delay. In such cases, the reason for delay will be explained in writing to the individual making the request. The BAcC will normally charge the prescribed maximum fee (currently £10) for subject access requests.

Subject consent

The need to process data for normal purposes will have been communicated to all data subjects. In some cases, if the data is sensitive, for example information about health, race or gender, express consent to process the data must be obtained. Processing may be necessary to operate BAcC policies, such as health and safety and equal opportunities.

Retention of data

Personal data must only be kept for the length of time necessary to perform the processing for which it was collected. Some forms of data need to be retained longer than others to comply with legal and other requirements. This applies to both electronic and non-electronic personal data.

Data security

All BAcC users of personal data must ensure that all personal data they hold is kept securely. They must ensure that it is not disclosed to any unauthorised third party in any form either accidentally or otherwise.

May 2011

The University of California, Berkeley has posted new research on the connection between poor sleep, memory loss and brain deterioration - a malady which affects us more as we grow older. The discovery opens the door to boosting the quality of sleep in elderly people to improve memory.

People check their weight after acupuncture and exercise treatment in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin, June 14, 2012. Obesity has become a global pandemic that could leave more than half of all adults worldwide overweight within two decades, experts said, calling for urgent action beyond just blaming people for lacking willpower

Tips on how to kick-start your labour from a member of the British Acupuncture Council. To find a qualified practitioner go to www.acupuncture.org.uk