The ME Association, alongside our Hon. Medical Adviser Dr Charles Shepherd, and Dr Nigel Speight, Hon. Pediatric Medical Adviser, have signed an open letter, written by the group Long Covid Advocacy to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, urging them to align with current evidence.
The open letter expresses significant concerns around the ‘inclusion of speakers Paul Garner, Alan Carson, and Trudie Chalder in Congress programming, given their longstanding association with psychiatric-led psychosocial frameworks applied to ME, which continue to shape the clinical interpretation of Long Covid.‘
It also expresses concerns around the overall structure of the programme, which while including biomedical terminology and references to patient experience, still via ‘it's overall structure continues to position psychosocial and behavioural frameworks as the primary lens through which post-acute viral illness is interpreted and managed.‘
The letter asks the Royal College to:
- “Ensure Congress programming on ME and Long Covid reflects current biomedical evidence and clinical guidance, and is not presented through outdated behavioural or psychosocial models.
- Review how speaker sequencing and session framing influence the interpretation of evidence.
- Ensure that patient expertise is positioned as an independent form of knowledge, not subsumed within pre-existing theoretical models.
- Align all teaching and outputs with NICE guideline NG206 and the current evidence base on Long Covid, ensuring that psychological aspects of care do not supersede or redefine the underlying biological condition“
If you would like to sign the open letter, you can do so via the link below (open until 26th of May, at which point it will be sent to Prof Subodh Dave)