charles shepherd
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MEA chairman Neil Riley commented: “The Countess of Mar is a brilliant campaigner for the cause and always a hard act to follow. We’re so pleased she has accepted our invitation to join the MEA as a Patron.”
I'm not sure why you think it's a personal vendetta. She does a great deal of advocacy on behalf of ME patients, including that series of open letters to Simon Wessely.Slightly concerned that she seems to pursue a few personal vendettas such as the one below which can distract from the objectives which must be increased funding & recognition for the illness.
None of her correspondence has looked like a rant to me. And a certain amount of passion can be quite helpful and even persuasive when correctly applied.Part of being a patron is being a diplomatic advocate, unfortunately public rants are probably not helpful.
Those objectives are indeed the most important ones, but sadly, with ME there is more that needs to be said. As far as the Countess of Mar's campaigning is concerned, it might all seem like a rant to you Seanko, but are you aware that regarding the most substantive and contentious issue that the Countess has been campaigning on for many years - and the substantive issue that she refers to in that letter, relating to a meeting with Wessely in 1998 - it has recently been revealed that government officials knew of the risks relating to organophosphates in the 1980s and 1990s but did not reveal what they knew publicly?I am aware that she does a lot of good work on behalf of the ME/CFS community in the UK.
Slightly concerned that she seems to pursue a few personal vendettas such as the one below which can distract from the objectives which must be increased funding & recognition for the illness.
http://www.investinme.org/Article-395a Letter from Lady Mar to SWessel.htm
@Mark
Thanks for your reply and the information. To represent 1000s of people requires a calm head and some tact & diplomacy.
The political world of medicine involves building influence and sometimes dealing with people you do not like or those who have different beliefs.
Making enemies needlessly is self destructive.
If the Countess can make things less personal, she has more chance of success.
I suspect the Countess of Mar knows better than most of us how the political world works, and especially the political world of medicine; given her many years of experience I think it's unrealistic to suggest she doesn't.The political world of medicine involves building influence and sometimes dealing with people you do not like or those who have different beliefs.
Making enemies with people is sometimes the only rational way of proceeding, especially if the people concerned have already given ample evidence of their own hostility to the cause you represent. Here again, the Countess of Mar seems to have a very clear grasp of the position she has adopted. I quote from the letter you linked to:Making enemies needlessly is self destructive.
The fact that science still understands so little about ME and the fact that the treatment patients receive is so poor is in no small part a consequence of the activities of certain key individuals who, for whatever reason, have been trying to sweep ME under the carpet for decades. Given the ongoing influence of these key individuals, it's only to be expected that things will get personal from time to time.If the Countess can make things less personal, she has more chance of success.