Coventry and Warwickshire has lost its dedicated services for Myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome and Long COVID. Both the Rugby-based community service and the George Eliot Hospital (GEH) service are now closed.
Since December 2025, the Healthcare team has been engaging with local NHS bodies in an effort to understand and challenge these decisions – initially to prevent closure and subsequently to secure clear answers about how and why they were made.
How this began
Our involvement started in December 2025, when we engaged directly with the Rugby Integrated ME/CFS and Long Covid service lead who contacted us with concerns about a proposed closure. We wrote formally to raise these issues and our correspondence was passed to the Trust’s Head of Communications and Public Affairs.
We were advised that the closure represented a change in commissioning arrangements rather than a reduction in services and that continuity and quality of care would be maintained.
From our perspective, this distinction did not align with what was being proposed on the ground and subsequent developments have not provided reassurance.
The George Eliot Hospital service closure
We later became aware that the GEH service was also closing. We wrote directly to the Acute Trust corresponding with the Deputy Operations Manager and General Manager.
We were informed that an executive-led internal “fragile service review” had taken place, concluding that the service should close.
A key factor cited was workforce capacity: the current consultant is due to retire and the Trust reported limited interest in recruitment to the post.
When we asked whether alternative models of provision had been considered – such as a GP with a Special Interest (GPwSI) or other integrated community model – we did not receive a direct answer and the discussion returned to recruitment constraints.
We were also told that commissioning responsibility lies with the Integrated Care Board (ICB), rather than the Acute Trust. We have since contacted the ICB commissioner and are awaiting a response.
Further issues may arise due to ICBs in the Midlands clustering together from 11 ICBs to 5 operational clusters. This is likely to result in slower accountability loops.
Escalation and oversight
In parallel with direct engagement, we have taken several steps to escalate concerns:
- Contacted local Members of Parliament to ensure they are aware of the service changes in their constituencies
- Included the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England in some correspondence to ensure national bodies are informed
- Submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request seeking:
- Details of the “fragile service review”
- Details of recruitment processes for the consultant post
- The Integrated Care Board’s future commissioning plans for the area
Ongoing work
We will continue to press for transparency through correspondence, the FOI process and engagement with MPs and national bodies.
Updates will be shared as more information becomes available. If you are a patient affected by these changes and would like to share your experience, please get in touch
Email: health@meassociation.org.uk
MEA Comment
Dr Charles Shepherd has recorded an interview on the closure for BBC Coventry and Warwickshire radio yesterday morning for their online news. Their report should be transmitted/published later in the week
The Coventry Telegraph are also preparing a report on the closure.
Further information
Last week, Sharon Hodgson (Government post of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care) answered a parliamentary question, which stated that ICBs have a clear duty to commission an ME/CFS referral service which also caters for people with severe and very severe ME/CFS.
Answered on 3rd July MP Sharon Hodgson said:
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are expected to commission services for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) across all levels of severity, including those with severe and very severe ME/CFS, in line with national standards, service specifications, and clinical access policies set by NHS England. Prioritisation and funding remain at the discretion of ICBs.
Press Coverage
- Coventry Live: Patients ‘abandoned' as Nuneaton hospital service cut ‘with no warning' | July 7, 2026
- BBC News: Charity concerns over changes to ME services | July 13, 2026
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