Pulse Magazine: GPs to be given training on ME/CFS to counter ‘dismissive attitudes

[Countrygirl]

https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/c...ng-on-me-cfs-to-counter-dismissive-attitudes/

Reading the doctors' comments is interesting too.



Home News Clinical areas Neurology GPs to be given training on ME/CFS to counter ‘dismissive attitudes’

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GPs to be given training on ME/CFS to counter ‘dismissive attitudes’​

Emma Wilkinson
10 August 2023


NHS England will develop a course on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) to counter ‘dismissive attitudes’ among health professionals.

Better training and education on ME/CFS is among 21 actions set out by the Government to improve NHS care for patients who are often not ‘believed, supported or treated equally’.
Many people with ME/CFS report ‘dismissive attitudes’ from some healthcare professionals and feel stigmatised, a Government interim report currently out for consultation states.

Some health professionals are not always aware of the latest NICE guidance with ‘misconceptions’ about the condition persisting, the report said.

The Department of Health and Social Care will identify professionals’ gaps in understanding around ME/CFS by September 2024 and NHS England will develop an e-learning module for those working in health and social care, the Government said.
It will include improved training on the condition in medical schools and medical colleges will be expected to ensure their training keeps pace with guidance.

A ‘Language Matters’ guide will be produced by the end of next year developed by healthcare professionals and people with personal experience of the condition.

Other action points include timely diagnosis and support for children with ME/CFS, and changes to the benefits system to improve people’s experience of assessment.

The aim is to improve awareness and understanding of the services that are available to people who need additional support, including carers, the interim report said.

Six of the action points relate to prioritising and funding research on the condition targeted to patient need to improve understanding of the condition and disease mechanisms.
ME/CFS affects an estimated 241,000 adults and children in England.

 

[Wishful]

Isn't their estimate a bit low? From other sources, there should be about double that number of PWME.

 

[hapl808]

Sad that it's still such a long way to go. Saw some article about Corey Feldman separating from his wife (seems amicable) and they refer to her health issues with "chronic fatigue" in quotes. Doctors are dismissive, and so is the populace at large. Maybe Long Covid helps with that a bit, but my optimism is pretty low. We have a better chance of stumbling on a definitive biomarker than we do at changing human discourse without one. (Just my cynicism.)

 

[BrightCandle]

Nowadays with 2 million Long Covid sufferers which half have ME/CFS the estimated prevalence is probably 1.25 million. The UK has gained 500,000 newly disabled people since the pandemic started which might suggest this is an underestimate.

This is the thing about the what the DHSC is doing is a lot of what they are saying is underplaying the problem. Those GP comments show that just an optional training course isn't going to change their attitudes. Raising awareness in research isn't research funding. The idea that children and people can go back to work and school with a few accommodations isn't based in reality. Some minor tweaks to social care aren't going to change the abject poverty most us find ourselves in.

The DHSC doesn't seem to have a clue about the reality of the condition and the amount of pushback they are going to get from the NHS on changing attitudes. They have spent 80 years of extensive propaganda making people hate us, that doesn't go away over night with a small awareness campaign with no money behind it.