Last clinic I was at, one of the third years got a patient who had sharp, needle-like pain in her joints (seen as quite serious in Chinese medicine: deeper depth in the body is often seen as a more progressed version of illness, hence deeper and with more danger and wear and tear on the person´s health). She had a lot of other minor (but important) symptoms as well, but this was the core problem for her. She had been through the Western medical diagnostics and treatment, and no-one had any way to help her.
One hour later, she had much less pain, a feeling of wellness, and for one who had insomnia, fell asleep in the treatment room. Hope she comes back: it would be interesting to see how continous treatment affects her whole health more in depth. She left the clinic smiling.
The clinic has three rooms at the moment, separated into seperate cubicles, and the students take patients as they turn up. They then have to diagnose, using pulse and tounge, and list which points they are using for treatment on a small whiteboard for the teacher to see.
There is always a lack of patients, compared to the number of students. My small class of 17 will be luckier since there will be less students that hog patients.
Since it´s a teaching clinic, prices are cheap: usually about 20 pounds. Most private acupuncturists in London range in price from 40-80 pounds per session. Only the few community acupuncture clinics in London go below this or at this level – there you can find a sliding scale of 15 pounds, or, in one case I know, ear acupuncture for a donation of three pounds only, that covers the cost of needles.
