In our ‘quick survey’ this month, we are asking people how long it took for them to obtain their diagnosis of ME/CFS – because we would like some up-to-date figures for a campaign in ME Awareness Week to try and persuade more doctors to commit to early and accurate diagnosis in order to improve the health of their patients.
Our Big Give Christmas Challenge, which was held in December, raised over £12,000 to pay for the campaign which will be aimed at getting a simple and clear message into doctors’ surgeries in May.
The message is that early and accurate diagnosis will help patients make informed choices about their futures. Many patients will therefore be able to avoid acting on inappropriate advice to exercise their way out of this illness – which countless patient surveys have shown can actually be harmful to the health of people with M.E.
We have had to amend the quick survey this morning because, when we posted it last night, we omitted a key question that asks how many people have had to wait over 10 years for a doctor’s diagnosis. We apologise for this and ask for those who took part in the survey overnight to come back to it again today and do it once again.