Every Friday and Saturday, the Portobello Acupuncture Project’s clinic in The Tabernacle opens its doors to the people of Notting Hill to offer acupuncture in a slightly different and very interesting way.
Founded by Patricia O’Hara (who is also the clinic’s principle practitioner), the Portobello Acupuncture Project offers acupuncture in a “multi-bed” setting. After a quiet consultation with a practitioner, patients are then treated in the large, quiet and comfortable room at the same time as others also receiving treatment. Such a practice is in fact very normal and indeed the authentic way of receiving acupuncture in China and, in this way, the Project is able to reduce their costs and pass on their savings to their patients.
The Project makes obtaining acupuncture even more affordable than that, however. All patients decide what they can afford to pay between £25 and £40 for their treatment, as the clinic not only believes in allowing their patients to have options, but also that their sliding fee scale elicits the simple principle of trust. Those that can afford to pay the full £40 do so, whilst those that need to pay less than this (perhaps because they need longer term treatment) can also do so. A patient’s decision on how much to pay will be respected by their practitioner and no questions will be asked about your decision.
