UPDATE: THE NICE ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION RE: ME/CFS CLINICAL GUIDELINE

October 19, 2021


Update 18 October at 7.00pm

“The roundtable meeting at NICE has now finished. I’m afraid I cannot produce a personal summary – because it was held under what are called Chatham House Rules.

“This means that those attending cannot report on who said what during the discussions on Diagnosis, CBT, GET and the safeguarding of children.

“What I can say is that it was a well managed and constructive meeting which covered all the objections from the Royal Colleges and I hope that this will now lead to publication and implementation of the new guideline.

“I assume that NICE will produce some sort of statement fairly shortly.”

Dr Charles Shepherd, Hon. Medical Adviser, ME Association
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Original announcement

The ME Association and other members of Forward-ME want nothing more than to see the new NICE clinical guideline published and implemented across the NHS and social care services. We do not want any further delay and we do not want to see any additional changes made.  

The final draft had been through a very comprehensive three-year process that met NICE’s own protocols and about which every stakeholder was consulted. We remain hopeful that this meeting will be about practical implementation of that guideline and nothing else.  

Dr Shepherd (Hon. Medical Adviser to the MEA) recently held a preliminary discussion with NICE and we were reassured by what they had to say. He will be representing the charity at the roundtable meeting, and – once the confidentiality agreement has expired – we will be able to say more and hopefully announce when publication can be expected. 

The latest statement from NICE can be read by clicking the image below.

“We hope there will be an open and honest discussion to ensure that the final guideline will be effectively implemented across the system.”

Professor Gillian Leng, NICE chief executive
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