In August, the UK’s National Health Service launched a campaign for CFS/ME. It was titled, “Chronic fatigue syndrome/Myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy) – Diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in adults and children.”
A London Daily Mail headline stated, “Doubting doctors are ordered to take ME patients seriously”. The new guideline was developed by NICE (National Institute of Health & Clinical Excellence) to advise the NHS medical professionals on appropriate treatments and care for people who have CFS/ME. The guidelines and resources are available at the NICE website.
The materials from this include:
For Professionals:
The full guideline, appendixes citing supporting references, a quick reference guide, and links to tools for supporting local implementation and patient education.
For Patients, the Public and Caregivers:
an educational version including an explanation of CFS/ME, what to expect in their clinical diagnosis and management, and questions to ask. To quote the summary:
This guideline is about the care of people with chronic fatigue syndrome, which is also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy), in the NHS in England and Wales. Throughout this booklet we refer to the condition as CFS/ME for short. The booklet explains guidance (advice) from NICE (the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence). It is written for people with CFS/ME, and parents or carers of people with the condition. It may also be useful for other family members or for anyone with an interest in CFS/ME. The guideline aims to help you understand the care and treatment options that should be available in the NHS.
All documents can be viewed, printed or downloaded from the NHS Site.
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