The week after patients at an Abbotsford acupuncture clinic were warned to get HIV testing, the operator has been told she can reopen under a number of conditions.

The Fraser Health Authority confirmed Friday that Duan Hu can continue practicing at the Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Centre if she follows patient record-keeping rules and properly disposes of waste and needles.

Hu must also comply with the ongoing Fraser Health investigation and “remediate in a timely fashion any other issues identified,” according to medical health officer Dr. Michelle Murti.

Murti said the decision came after a follow-up inspection at the clinic conducted Monday, four days after Fraser Health issued a public warning that everyone who’s been treated there since 2005 should get tested for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

“Further inspections will be conducted to ensure compliance,” Murti said in a statement.

The clinic came to officials’ attention earlier this month after one former patient tested positive for a blood-borne disease.

Fraser Health said a subsequent inspection found all the needles on hand at the clinic had expired in 2006, and all were in open packaging. Investigators can’t say whether they were reused from one patient to the next, a practice barred in B.C.

Concerns about oversight

The health scare has raised questions from the public about oversight in the acupuncture industry.

B.C. doctors, physiotherapists, dentists and acupuncturists are accountable to each profession’s regulatory college, and each colleges’ approach to inspections varies .

The College of Physicians and Surgeons conducts routine inspections at doctors’ offices, but the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncturists said it only inspects clinics when a red flag is raised.

The CTCMA confirmed it had never inspected the Abbotsford clinic in the nine years it was operating before it came to health officials’ attention this month.

“There is clearly a gap here if inspections aren’t done on a regular basis,” NDP health critic Judy Darcy said.

“It makes no sense for a procedure that is about improving people’s health, reducing pain and dealing with other medical issues for there not to be regular inspections.”

Darcy said she’s had acupuncture before and she believes most practitioners deliver treatment that is safe and effective.

The MLA said waiting for patients to file complaints before launching inspections is problematic, however.

Lack of resources

The CTCMA said there are 1,600 registered acupuncturists in B.C. and it doesn’t have the resources to conduct regular inspections.

“There’s really no reason why the clinics should all be inspected on a regular basis, there are other ways of ensuring public safety,” college registrar Mary Watterson told CTV News this week.

“In every profession there are problems that come up and people who don’t do what they’re supposed to do, and that’s where we come in.”

The college suspended Hu’s licence this month amid the ongoing investigation, but has since reinstated it.

Multiple requests for comment from Health Minister Terry Lake regarding acupuncture oversight in the province have been refused.

The Ministry of Health did issue a statement defending B.C.’s system of self-regulation for health professions.

“All Canadian provinces and many jurisdictions around the world use peer-based regulation models as part of a larger oversight system for health care workers,” it said.

“Many of the colleges, including the acupuncturists, have proactively implemented quality assurance programs."