Reading The Daily Gloom, it would be easy to get a sense that the NHS and its services are at a low ebb. On the whole, my day-to-day experiences are positive. Of course, more resources would be great and there is a constant need to strike a balance between need (and perceived need) and evidence (and available funding) but we are able to continue to report progress on service development for CFS/ME. As October draws nearer, and the commissioning processes swing into action, all these factors – and the questions of meeting unmet need – are in mind.

As you will know from previous editions of Focus, all four clinical teams in the north east and north Cumbria are established, taking referrals from primary care and developing their expertise, practice and planning. A NICE guideline is due for release in 2007 (see www.nice.org.uk) and discussions about how to take that guideline forward locally are beginning.

We are delighted that three Northern CFS/ME Clinical Network research awards have been granted, following a call for applications earlier in the year – and the recipients will report their progress through Focus. Supporting scientific endeavour in the CFS/ME domain is a crucial theme for the network.

The clinical network continues to work closely with ME North East: a good working relationship is important for service and network development. Jennifer and Philip Burns are members of the clinical network board, and ME North East is the channel for patients and other patient groups to reach the clinical network. Plans for local service user forums are being shaped so that teams have direct and essential feedback from patients with experience of the service.

Finally, we are busy coordinating the second CFS/ME winter conference for NHS staff and agencies – we hope to raise awareness of the services as well as improve clinical knowledge and skills in the area. As well as contacting paediatricians, acute sector colleagues and local authorities, every GP practice in each of fifteen primary care trusts has received an invitation to the conference, and we will report on how the event went in a future Focus. We are very excited about this conference which draws speakers from across the CFS/ME domain in the UK; topics include CFS/ME in primary care, diet, case study workshops, a focus on children/young people and the intricacies of DLA for health professionals involved in patients’ applications. We hope that you will reap the benefits of the event through your healthcare team encounters – please let Jennifer know if your GP, nurse, social care key worker or other NHS/local authority team member hasn’t received details of the conference: Jennifer will pass names to us and we will make sure they receive a set of information.

Louise Wilson