Press Release

NEW CENTRES AND LOCAL SUPPORT TEAMS FOR CFS/ME PATIENTS ANNOUNCED
Services will reduce ‘postcode lottery’ in access to vital support and treatment.

The Government today continued its drive towards ending postcode lotteries of care in the NHS through the announcement of new centres and local support teams for people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic encephalopathy (CFS/ME).

Funded by the £8.5 million cash injection announcement last year, the 12 centres will be based in Newcastle, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham/West Midlands, East Midlands, East Anglia, North London (St. Bartholomew’s), Surrey (Sutton), Bath/Bristol and Cornwall/Devon. The Centres and Local Teams will champion and support the development of local services to improve the care and treatment of the many people with CFS/ME.

Led by Clinical Champions (local CFS/ME specialists), the centres will improve the overall care of patients with CFS/ME by:

· Providing access to specialist assessment, diagnosis and advice on treating the condition
· Developing education and training resources for health professionals to improve the knowledge and skills of staff
· Supporting clinical research into the causes and treatment of CFS/ME

28 local support teams spread throughout the country, will provide support to those adjusting to and coping with CFS/ME by:

· Providing specialist rehabilitation programmes for patients to help increase energy and activity levels
· Developing a network of local domiciliary services (health, education and social services) for those more severely affected who may be house-bound or bed-bound
· Supporting GPs and other health professionals and in partnership with local self-help groups develop expert patient and self management initiatives

Health Minister Stephen Ladyman said:

“CFS/ME is a debilitating and distressing condition that affects people of all ages. As the causes are still not fully understood, it is also a condition that poses a challenge to medicine and the NHS. These new centres and local teams mean that we can start developing focused, local services that will make a real difference to people’s lives.”

“ The support, empathy and the understanding of health professionals is an important factor in the care of people with this condition. The education and training provided by the centres will be invaluable in providing health professionals with the information they need tot help their patients.”

The local support teams have been successful in their bids. County Durham and Darlington (to serve the South of the region) and North Tyne (Newcastle, to serve the North of the region).

Sadly, 2 other bids – South Tyne (Sunderland) and Cumbria were not successful this time around. Bids for second round funding must be submitted by April 2004 for services in 2005. We hope they will win through! Cleveland has yet to decide on whether to bid for services.

ME North East welcome this breakthrough – at last we will have dedicated services for people with ME. We will be working closely with all Primary Care Trusts, local ME groups and our members to ensure the services are designed to meet the needs of the patient.

There is much to do and we are ready to get around the table to make a start!