APPG press release on NHS inquiry

03 December 2009

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on ME has today launched the interim report on its Inquiry into NHS Service Provision for ME/CFS.

Dr Des Turner MP, Chair of the APPG said the evidence submitted to the Group made it clear that the Department of Health (DoH) and the National Health Service (NHS) needs to significantly increase its efforts to ensure that people with ME/CFS get adequate treatment.

“Currently, services offered to patients with ME/CFS are patchy and we have heard of numerous cases where treatment has simply not been available to any adequate standard. This is confounded by delays in diagnosis and failings on the part of General Practioners to recognise the disease or diagnose it,” said Dr Turner MP.

“We found unacceptable variation in provision between different health trusts which needs to be addressed.”

ME/CFS sufferers continue to be badly treated by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and find great difficulty in accessing disability benefits.