http://www.actionforme.org.uk/get-i...-campaigns/categorisation-of-cfs-m-e+answered
6 July 2012
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government why the Ministry of Defence categorises CFS/M.E. as a psychiatric or mental health disorder on the British Army Health Questionnaire (RG Form 8), when the World Health Organisation ICD 10 categorises it as a neurological condition under G93.3 and the UK Department of Health has confirmed that there is no other ICD category for the condition.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever) provided the following written answer on 24 July 2012:
"The current version of the British Army Health Questionnaire, Recruiting Group Form 8 (RG 8), which has been in use by applicants to the regular Army since 2008, does not assign categories to any medical condition but instead lists conditions which are then verified by the applicant's GP.
"However, until recently, applicants to the Territorial Army (TA) completed an older, self-certified version of the RG 8 (dated 2004), which categorised CFS/M.E. as a psychiatric or mental disorder. This was consistent with advice in place from the World Health Organisation International Classification of Diseases, which allowed clinicians to categorise patients who came under the broad category of chronic fatigue syndrome, under either psychiatry or neurology.
"This older version of RG 8 has now been withdrawn and since April 2012 all TA applicants, like their regular counterparts, now complete the current RG 8 version dated 2008."
Surely the statement below is wrong. Has the CoM or anyone raised this again with the government?
"This was consistent with advice in place from the World Health Organisation International Classification of Diseases, which allowed clinicians to categorise patients who came under the broad category of chronic fatigue syndrome, under either psychiatry or neurology."
6 July 2012
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government why the Ministry of Defence categorises CFS/M.E. as a psychiatric or mental health disorder on the British Army Health Questionnaire (RG Form 8), when the World Health Organisation ICD 10 categorises it as a neurological condition under G93.3 and the UK Department of Health has confirmed that there is no other ICD category for the condition.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever) provided the following written answer on 24 July 2012:
"The current version of the British Army Health Questionnaire, Recruiting Group Form 8 (RG 8), which has been in use by applicants to the regular Army since 2008, does not assign categories to any medical condition but instead lists conditions which are then verified by the applicant's GP.
"However, until recently, applicants to the Territorial Army (TA) completed an older, self-certified version of the RG 8 (dated 2004), which categorised CFS/M.E. as a psychiatric or mental disorder. This was consistent with advice in place from the World Health Organisation International Classification of Diseases, which allowed clinicians to categorise patients who came under the broad category of chronic fatigue syndrome, under either psychiatry or neurology.
"This older version of RG 8 has now been withdrawn and since April 2012 all TA applicants, like their regular counterparts, now complete the current RG 8 version dated 2008."
Surely the statement below is wrong. Has the CoM or anyone raised this again with the government?
"This was consistent with advice in place from the World Health Organisation International Classification of Diseases, which allowed clinicians to categorise patients who came under the broad category of chronic fatigue syndrome, under either psychiatry or neurology."
