Multibeds: hard work but enjoyable

Tess Lugos explains how and why Wellpoint Acupuncture survives and thrives while offering low-cost acupuncture in the community

Tess Lugos

Member: London

Setting up and running a multibed clinic is hard, but the project can succeed with the right team. It’s possible to deliver high standards of care while keeping costs low. The rewards? An enjoyable way of working and the satisfaction of making acupuncture accessible to more people.

My colleagues and I know this because last June we celebrated the 10th anniversary of Wellpoint, our threebed clinic in Finchley Central in North London. Wellpoint is set in Stephens House & Gardens, a Grade II-listed house with extensive landscaped gardens. We operate Monday to Saturday and open late on three weekday evenings. We can offer this because the work is shared by four acupuncturists, with one practitioner in clinic at any one time, seeing one to three patients an hour.

Ghila Banin, the driving force behind Wellpoint more than 11 years ago, says, ‘The project worked even from the beginning. We never had to borrow money, we never had problems paying bills.’ The clinic pays its practitioners a modest but regular salary and continuously reinvests in the business.

Happy coincidence

Ghila always wanted to set up a multibed clinic after visiting a working men’s hospital in Nanjing in 1995. She tried to set one up in Hereford, then tried again in Israel, but it never worked out.

After moving back to North London from Hereford, she placed an ad in the BAcC members’ magazine in November 2010 for potential partners in a multibed project. In the end four partners – Ghila plus Annetta Apol, Monica Daswani and Dev Shukla – set up Wellpoint in some of the old clinic rooms of the London College of Traditional Acupuncture (LCTA), which closed in October 2010.

‘That was sheer coincidence,’ explains Ghila. ‘I was passing by and saw a For Let sign, so went in and had a look.’ It was a happy coincidence because it meant getting equipment like treatment couches, heat lamps and office furniture at low or no cost.

It took more than a year to open the new clinic. ‘There was a lot to think about beforehand and we had so many discussions,’ says Annetta. ‘In hindsight, you need to have done your research – look at what’s available in the area, what is a reasonable rent, how much you want to earn, what is a legal structure that works, and how many people you want involved.’

Occupying the old LCTA clinic premises had other benefits – although Wellpoint has since moved to its new space – because many former LCTA patients came. One of them is Gill Rose, who used to come to LCTA to help manage an autoimmune condition. ‘After LCTA, Gill Hack [one of the clinic supervisors] treated me at her multibed in Highgate. And when Gill sold her business, she referred me to Wellpoint and I’ve been coming here ever since.’

Over the past decade Wellpoint has welcomed more than 2,100 patients through its doors. It treats on average 42 patients a week, sometimes up to 60 when busy. About half its patients come via word of mouth and the other half from internet searches. ‘We hardly spend on marketing,’ explains Ghila. ‘A multibed doesn’t require a big [promotional] investment. You don’t need to be on the high street. Our service speaks for itself and people find you on the internet or come via referrals.’

A community resource

Patients are drawn by the twin attractions of a clinic that is open six days a week and affordability. Wellpoint charges £40 for an initial consultation and treatment, and £30 for follow-up sessions. When Covid first closed down allied healthcare clinics in March to May 2020, Wellpoint had to figure out how to operate during a pandemic, learning along the way like most businesses. When the clinic reopened in June 2020, the partners ditched the multibed model and treated on a one-to-one basis to keep safe during that deeply uncertain period.

What about pricing? Wellpoint could have raised prices but in the end decided not to because its ethos has always been about making acupuncture accessible. It kept the same charges but asked patients to pay more if they could. The result was a nice surprise. ‘About 65 per cent of patients paid the same,’ says Annetta, ‘but the other 35 per cent paid more such that we earned about the same as if we had raised prices.’

Patients understood the reasons why they were being asked to pay more and were happy to do so. Many said they wanted to help us stay open, recognising the importance of having a community resource like Wellpoint.

We went back to a multibed model in October 2021, once we felt safe enough with more widespread vaccine takeup in the country. We stuck with social distancing guidelines so use only two of the three cubicles, the ones that are farthest apart. The clinic is less busy than before Covid, but in some ways that is not a bad thing.

‘When you’re younger you can see three to four people an hour, but as you get older it might only be two,’ Ghila explains. In the beginning the partners were driven and worked very hard, seeing 12 to 13 patients a day. But that is not sustainable in the long run and the danger of burn-out is very real.

Wellpoint is located in Stephens House, above (photo: Russ Jackson Photography); Wellpoint partners, left to right: Tess Lugos, Ghila Banin and Annetta Apol (photo: Duane Matthews) Wellpoint treatment room (photo: Duane Matthews)

Hard work

Some multibeds are set up to have two or more practitioners working at the same time. Because of Wellpoint’s limited space – an office for consultations plus one large treatment room – only one practitioner can be in clinic. It is hard work. The acupuncturist on shift not only juggles consultations while treating multiple patients but also answers the phone, responds to emails, manages the diary, takes payment, and sets up at the start or cleans up after shifts.

It is very different to treating on a one-to-one basis and too much for one person to do every day. It is no surprise that most members of the Association of Community and Multibed Acupuncture Clinics (ACMAC), which lists 55 clinics in the UK, offer affordable acupuncture only once or twice a week.

In London, ACMAC lists 11 multibeds. Wellpoint is unique that it can offer low-cost acupuncture on a full-time basis, with practitioners that work as a team to offer continuity of care. Longtime patient Gill Rose says, ‘I come to Wellpoint because when one practitioner is away, someone else can pick up. With my autoimmune condition, it would be detrimental to stop treatment, especially if I catch a cold or virus.’

Patients going through IVF particularly need affordable regular treatments. Christine (not her real name) came to Wellpoint while undergoing IVF. ‘I had tragically lost my first baby, Joshua, to a genetic condition, so my husband and I decided to have IVF with preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to prevent passing on the condition to any children. A family member recommended acupuncture, I did a bit of research, and chose Wellpoint because it’s local, had good reviews, is set in beautiful surroundings and affordable.’

The treatments were a success and Christine now has two healthy children – a three-year-old girl and a six-monthold baby boy!

Not easier, but different

The business is viable because its team of four works well together. After Dev and Monica left, two others joined Ghila and Annetta. I joined in January 2017 as a maternity cover for Monica and stayed on after she decided not to come back. I qualified in 2015, so I saw working at Wellpoint as a chance to ‘speed learn’ by treating many more patients than I would as a sole practitioner.

The same holds true for Debbie Sheldon, who joined as a trainee when she qualified three years ago. The team regularly consults with one another, particularly for complicated or unusual cases. This engenders confidence and helps the new practitioner build their business. (Most of us combine multibed work with private practice.)

Annetta had been a sole practitioner for four years when she saw Ghila’s ad in 2011. ‘My reason for joining had more to do with wanting to work with others,’ Annetta explains. ‘It’s nice not to have to do everything on your own. Wellpoint’s model is not necessarily easier, but it’s different.’

Everyone brings a strength to the project, whether that is in procurement, admin, marketing or social media. We also have a mix of specialties like nutrition, scalp acupuncture, cosmetic acupuncture, tuina and shiatsu, which we offer in our private practices. ‘We have a very good team, everyone is supportive of each other,’ says Ghila. ‘We cover for each other when it comes to holidays and sick days.’

Wellpoint encourages practitioners to set up multibeds in their communities. ‘It’s very demanding to set up, so you need a good group of practitioners with different skills. You need to know your limits. But the most important thing in our work is to enjoy it.’ The Wellpoint team has had an enjoyable ten years and looks forward to the next ten.

Want to work in a multibed? Wellpoint is expanding and looking for another acupuncturist to work two shifts a week. Please send your CV to info@wellpointacupuncture.co.uk

Wellpoint top tips for starting a multibed

• Build a team of practitioners with complementary skills • Decide on your legal structure • If partnership, work out how much capital you need to cover your first year or two • You don't need to be on the high street – look for a low-cost location, for example church or community centre • Open on a full-time basis • Offer evening and weekend hours • Don't mix affordable acupuncture with private practice in the same venue – patients get confused • Enjoy the work!