Tessa Munt MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on ME, and whom we work with, has a longstanding interest in improving the care and management of people with ME/CFS. She tabled an amendment to the government's health bill that is currently going through parliament.
The amendment would require that a period must be set within which the NICE guideline NG206 on ME/CFS must be complied with by ICBs and other health bodies. Furthermore, the Secretary of State must publish an annual statement on compliance with NICE guideline NG206 across the NHS in England.
This amendment was debated, but has now been withdrawn. See the full debate in the transcript.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Helen Morgan, Lib Dem Health and Social Care spokesperson, said:
The Amendment was tabled by my hon. Friend Tessa Munt on behalf of the approximately 1.2 million people in England who live with myalgic encephalomyelitis, because five years after the introduction of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline NG206, little has changed. Service provision according to NG206 remains patchy and poor, with many patients having traumatic experiences. The amendment would require a period to be set in which integrated care boards and other health bodies must comply with the guideline, and the Secretary of State must publish an annual statement on compliance with NG206 across the NHS in England.
The introduction of the guideline after sustained campaigning represented a major reform after years in which ME was treated as a psychiatric condition and patients were pushed to follow graduated exercise therapy. Often, GET had disastrous consequences, precipitating serious deteriorations that patients never recovered from. Credit is due to Mrs Hodgson, the current Minister for Public Health and Prevention, for her determination when in Opposition to bring about the change.
In a written answer published last week, the Minister for Public Health and Prevention confirmed that all ICBs have a statutory obligation to ensure sufficient care provision for their population, but the experience of those with ME is that that obligation is far from being fulfilled. In some ICBs, no services for ME are commissioned; in others, the provider has a history of providing services that reflect not NG206, but the old and condemned approach of GET. Some services are provided out of psychiatry departments, which is a huge red flag for those with ME, and information on the quality of services is patchy. Results from a big survey of more than 5,000 people with ME or long covid in late 2025 painted a bleak picture: more than half said that they had been disbelieved by an NHS healthcare official, one in three had been made to feel that their ME was their own fault, and almost two in five had had an encounter with a clinician that was traumatic or traumatising.
… [Later in the debate] I thank the Minister for her words, particularly on Amendment 78. As I said, I will not press the amendment to a vote, but I hope that the Minister will continue to bear in mind that provision for people with ME is extremely patchy and that a number of our constituents are suffering in the long term. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.
As people may be aware, the MEA is currently opposing the closure of the ME/CFS referral service at the George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton:
More Information:
Contact the Healthcare 4 ME care team
Latest blogs, news and updates on Healthcare 4 ME
