Parliament to debate treatment of ME patients

CAMPAIGNERS are celebrating after it was announced that Parliament is to debate the treatment of patients with a debilitating and highly misunderstood illness this week.

Loughborough MP Nicky Morgan supported calls for the threehour discussion of Myaglic Encephalomyelitis (ME), a condition which affects more than 250,000 people in the UK – 20,000 of them children.

The debate is expected to take place this Thursday (June 21) and is expected to have wide-cross party support, with one MP suggesting it was necessary to ‘shine a light’ on the illness.

Mrs Morgan said: “When Glasgow North West MP, Carol Monaghan, held a Westminster Hall debate on this there was a significant number of Members of Parliament who took part and a lot of interest from people outside.

“And when I mentioned ME/CFS in my local newsletter, I had a number of constituents and others contacting me to say ‘thank goodness people are beginning to talk about this’. I think this will be the House of Commons at its best, with MPs talking about ME/CFS.”

ME, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or ME/CFS, is characterized by post-exertional malaise – a severe worsening of symptoms after even minimal exertion.

The effects of ME are devastating enough to leave 25 per cent of patients housebound or bedbound and an estimated 75 per cent unable to work. People are affected on a scale of mild to severe and in the severest of cases, patients can be bedbound for years, unable to speak or eat and even tolerate light and sound.

The illness is recognised by the World Health Organisation as a neurological condition.

There is currently no known cure and current NHS treatments are under review as ME patients and charities claim they are not fit for purpose.

Sarah Reed, who organised a showing of the documentary about ME, Unrest, in Loughborough recently, and who is parliamentary liaison for the global health network #ME Action, said: “We are pleased that Parliament is starting to listen to the voices of patients and are grateful to Nicky for the support she has shown, but there is still a long way to go.

“ME devastates lives but public perception trivialises the illness. This is not just a case of asking for more funding. We want MPs to understand the social injustices that people with ME have to endure and their help to put it right.”