Along with some colleagues from Forward ME, and some clinical colleagues, I will be at a meeting today (Monday 23rd February) with the DHSC and NHS England to discuss progress on the preparation of a clinical care pathway for people with mild and moderate ME/CFS.
Extracts from the DHSC Delivery Plan:
- NHS England will co-design resources for systems to improve services including the development of the template service specification for mild and moderate ME/CFS
- Work commenced, stakeholders to be engaged through a new health services sub-group of the Task and Finish Group, to seek feedback
- Engagement, drafting and testing by December 2025
- The template service specification will fully take into account NICE guidelines on ME/CFS and be disseminated to all ICBs to inform their commissioning decisions and support quality of local service provision to match local needs
We will continue to raise our deep concerns about the failure to include people with severe ME/CFS in this pathway and the lack of information regarding the Delivery Plan ministerial action to create a national referral service for those with very severe ME/CFS. This lack of information is just not acceptable.
I will also be at a meeting later in the week at the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) to discuss another important action point from the Delivery Plan. This action point instructed the RCP to deliver medical education material – in the form of the NHS e-learning modules on ME/CFS to all RCP physicians.
Extracts from the DHSC Delivery Plan:
- RCP will, for now, rely on NHS England’s e-learning modules, which are considered suitable by RCP
- Aim for all RCP members to undertake the e-learning by the end of 2025
Dr Charles Shepherd,
Trustee and Hon. Medical Adviser to the ME Association,
Member of the 2018-2021 NICE guideline on ME/CFS committee,
Member of the 2002 Chief Medical Officer's Working Group on ME/CFS
