This story has been corrected: see footnote below

A woman working as an unregistered ‘acupuncturist’ in a shopping centre caused a left-sided pneumothorax after placing needles near her patient’s collarbone while treating her for a headache, says the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC).

The patient was admitted to hospital with a left apical pneumothorax after presenting in ED with shortness of breath around 30 minutes after the acupuncture treatment.

The HCCC found Liya Rong breached the code of conduct for unregistered practitioners on a number of grounds, including: holding herself out to be qualified, for failing to keep legible clinical records and to have indemnity insurance, and for providing care outside her experience or training.