UK Government Delivery Plan on ME/CFS
(Department of Health and Social Care)Forward-ME and our members are enthusiastic to be taking part in the UK Government Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) Delivery Plan for ME/CFS.
The ME/CFS Delivery plan will build on the recently published ‘Rethinking ME‘ report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on ME /CFS, the recently updated guidance on ME/CFS from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and the recently announced top ten research priorities for ME/CFS.
The ME/CFS delivery plan will focus on 3 key areas:
- Research: Considering all aspects involved in developing high-quality research into ME/CFS.
- Attitudes and Education: Developing solutions to improve attitudes to ME/CFS, including by those involved in healthcare.
- Living with ME/CFS: Looking at quality of life for people with ME/CFS and services offered to them.
Each of these areas are led by working group which are investigating the issues faced, and how to deliver improvements.
“Other working groups oversee progress of the Delivery Plan, and work to ensure consultation processes are inclusive of people with ME/CFS.”
The working groups are composed of people from a wide range of organisations involved in the care and support for people with ME/CFS, including ME/CFS charities, medical organisations, education providers, government bodies and research institutions. Each Working Group includes a number of people with ME and their carers.
The working groups shall continue to meet over autumn, and expect to publish a delivery plan in 2023.
Andrew Morris, Chair of Forward-ME: “We are excited about the Department of Health and Social Care’s ME/CFS delivery plan. Support for those affected by ME has been woeful for decades, but we now have a chance to deliver radical change. If successful, this is our opportunity to change society’s approach to ME, to ensure that health care services meet the needs of people with ME, to create a serious programme of research to uncover the biological mechanisms driving the disease, and look for effective therapies. This is big news.”
For further information, please download the document published by the Department of Health and Social Care:
Aug 2022: First announcement
Download here