The conversation on this You Tube ‘video’ took place on
BBC Radio 4’s PM programme on 11th July 2017 when
Andy Burnham, prompted by host Eddie Mair, proposed the adoption of a ‘Hillsborough law’ to shift the balance in the many instances where ordinary people bring genuine complaints but are dismissed and even denigrated by the establishment. He described the latter in terms of a cosy network of relationships between high ranking people in public bodies and the media. Burnham, a former Health Secretary and now Mayor of Greater Manchester, was speaking after the announcement of an inquiry into the massive
blood contamination scandal which cost the lives of over 2400 people who received transfusions in the UK in the seventies till the nineties. He compared this to other scandals such as the
Hillsborough disaster, in all of which the complaints of those involved and their families have been dismissed and ignored for decades.
I’m sure there are many other examples of such injustices. Hopefully the recent
Grenfell Tower disaster will be dealt with more swiftly.
The conversation reminded me of an issue in which I am very much involved, that of
ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis), also known – misleadingly- as CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome). This may seem like a trivial issue compared to the others I have mentioned, but therein lies the primary injustice. Unfortunately the term ‘chronic fatigue’ gives the impression of patients who are just ‘tired all the time’ so this is the view that many people have of this condition.
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So yes, in the case of ME, we patients feel that the odds are stacked against us. A Hillsborough law would indeed be useful. As things stand, we ordinary patients seem to have very little power against the network of those with vested interests who believe that they and their friends must be right because of who they are. We have the truth on our side and we have the evidence to prove it – but that does not appear to be enough.
