Chronic fatigue syndrome: Government recognises the need to improve care
The Department of Health has vowed to improve care services for chronic fatigue syndrome sufferers in recognition of the condition's debilitating effects.
The causes of the condition, also known as ME, are still not fully understood by the medical profession. Due to this lack of medical evidence, cynical reports have referred to ME as 'yuppie flu' in the past. However, in recent years the illness has grown into a huge claims area for both State disability benefits and income protection insurance.
The Government is investing in 12 treatment centres across the UK, meaning ME patients will have better access to specialist assessment, diagnosis and advice on treating the condition. Rehabilitation programmes for housebound and bedbound patients are also being introduced.
Chief executive of charity Action for ME, Chris Clark, welcomed the Government's actions. "People with ME not only know that their illness has been recognised, but that they can now hope for the support, knowledge and understanding that its severity merits," he said.
The new centres will also support clinical research into the causes and treatments of ME, while developing staff education and training. In addition, 28 local support teams led by clinical specialists will be set up to support the initiative.
Announcing the plans, Minister for Health and Social Care, Stephen Ladyman, said: "ME is a debilitating and distressing condition that affects people of all ages. As the causes are still not fully understood it is also a condition that poses a challenge to medicine and the NHS.
"These new centres and local teams mean that we can start developing focused, local serv-ices that will make a real difference to people's lives."
The centres will be based in Newcastle, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, East Midlands, East Anglia, North London, Surrey, Bath and Cornwall. Ladyman added that the education and training provided by the centres for medical staff would help improve the level of support given to sufferers. "The support, empathy and understanding of health professionals is an important factor in the care of people with this condition," he said.
