Daily Telegraph responds to MEA complaint
MEA replies to the Daily Telegraph
As no satisfactory solution has been reached with the Daily Telegraph, I will now refer the need for a correction of the inaccurate and misleading headlines in the paper edition to IPSO (Independent Press Standards Organisation) which has taken over from the PCC
IPSO Clause 1 Accuracy:
i) The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, including pictures.
ii) A significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distortion once recognised must be corrected, promptly and with due prominence, and - where appropriate - an apology published. In cases involving the Regulator, prominence should be agreed with the Regulator in advance.
iii) The Press, whilst free to be partisan, must distinguish clearly between comment, conjecture and fact.
iv) A publication must report fairly and accurately the outcome of an action for defamation to which it has been a party, unless an agreed settlement states otherwise, or an agreed statement is published.
CS4 November 2015, at 17.55
Dear Alexandra
I have read your reply and find it to be both disingenuous and inaccurate.
"Oxford University has found ME is not actually a chronic illness"
For the vast majority of people with ME/CFS, this is a long term disabling illness - a fact that is fully recognised by the Dept of Health, DWP, MRC and NICE Please look at the section on prognosis (page 7) in the Chief Medical Officer's Report on ME/CFS if you require independent confirmation:
http://www.meassociation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/CMO-Report-2002.pdf
The headline regarding chronicity was clearly inaccurate and one of the authors of the PACE trial paper has stated: "The study did not contradict the view that ME/CFS is a chronic illness. Source:
http://www.senseaboutscience.org/re...ng-me-is-all-in-the-mind#sthash.WwJ2lMQ5.dpuf
It is also worth noting that Isabel Hardman, Assistant Editor of The Spectator, said in her blog column yesterday:
I’ve spoken to the lead author, Professor Michael Sharpe from the University of Oxford, and he is adamant that his study did not conclude or suggest that CFS is not actually a chronic illness. ‘Whatever people’s own views are on this, they cannot use this research to claim that,’ he says.
I note that the headline relating to CFS no longer being a chronic illness has been removed from the on-line version of this news item
However, there should also be a proper correction in the paper edition - as this was a clear factual inaccuracy
Oxford University made no such claim
As this is not going to happen, I will now forward my complaint to IPSO
"Chronic Fatigue Syndrome sufferers 'can overcome symptoms of ME with positive thinking and exercise'
The PACE trial study did not claim that 'positive thinking' can 'overcome symptoms of ME
And CBT is not the same as 'positive thinking'
The over simplistic claim that exercise can 'overcome symptoms of ME symptoms' is also incorrect
I note that there was no intention to provide any balance, or critical comment, or patient evidence on these interventions in this news item.
But it is worth noting that in the MEA report (graph below) respondents told us that CBT had either no effect on symptoms (73%) or actually made them worse (18%)
And that 'exercise' in the form of GET made symptoms worse in 74% and produced no effect in 14%
Where patients followed courses that only related to CBT, GET or Pacing; more reported an improvement in symptoms following their Pacing course than did those who attended either of the other courses.
CBT resulted in 91% of participants feeling their ME/CFS symptoms were unaffected or made worse,
GET 88%, and Pacing 55%.
GET was deemed to have led to a worsening of symptoms by more patients than those who attended either CBT or Pacing courses (graph 3:4:2a).
Regards
Dr Charles Shepherd
Hon Medical Adviser, MEA
On 4 Nov 2015, at 16:35, Telegraph Enquiries wrote:
Our Ref: 1008333
4 November 2015
Dr Charles Shepherd
7 Apollo Office Court
Radclive Road
Gawcott
Bucks
MK18 4DF
Dear Dr Shepherd,
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome sufferers 'can overcome symptoms of ME with positive thinking and exercise', 28 Oct 2015
Thank you for contacting us about this article.
We have received a number of complaints about this item.
The below is our response to all. If you remain unhappy with it, we suggest that you pursue the matter with IPSO at
ipso.co.uk.
The Telegraph is a general interest newspaper, not a scientific or medical journal.
Provided they do not significantly misrepresent the findings of scientific papers and studies, newspapers are entitled to summarise and explain these in language appropriate for a non-specialist audience.
Against that backdrop, we have the following comments about the main issues under complaint:
1. "Oxford University has found ME is not actually a chronic illness"
Complaints about the article's sub-heading assume that 'chronic' illness has the specific meaning of being a condition for which there is no cure. In fact, 'chronic' as applied to sickness is variously defined and incurability is
not common to all definitions. For instance, the
WHO defines chronic disease (which it also calls 'non-communicable disease'), as any condition 'of long duration' and 'slow progression'. The definition is silent on the topic of curability. It does however include 'cancers' - many of which are obviously curable - in its list of chronic diseases. According to the US National Center for Health Statistics, a chronic disease is one that lasts 3 months or longer; it notes that chronic disease is only 'generally' incurable, not that this is a necessary or defining characteristic.
As non-medical specialists, readers tend to apply the term 'chronic' more loosely, with a meaning approximate to the
Wikipedia definition, ie any condition with persistent and long-standing symptoms that are difficult to alleviate, whether or not it is ultimately curable. To the extent that the study's findings do indeed challenge this view of CFS/ME, the wording is not significantly inaccurate.
Moreover the article states clearly that "doctors still do not know the cause or cure" of CFS/ME. This is repeated in the caption that accompanies a photograph included in the online article. It also quotes Prof Peter White, of Queen Mary University, saying: “But it is also a reminder that these treatments do not help everybody and more research is needed.”
It follows that readers will understand that the study has not found a cure, and that the treatments examined in the study helped only some study subjects, not all. We note moreover that the
UK's ME Association itself notes that some sufferers "manage to return to completely normal health, even though this may take a considerable period of time", suggesting that the condition is curable. It also says ME "often becomes a chronic illness", thereby suggesting that not all cases are chronic.
Given all the above, it is difficult to see how the article can be significantly misleading on the point. We have nevertheless amended the wording for clarity.
2. "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome sufferers 'can overcome symptoms of ME with positive thinking and exercise' "
Some readers expressed concern about the article's headline, claiming that 'fatigue' was the only symptom examined by the study.
In fact, as the study makes clear, both the original PACE trial and the follow-up assessment in the study also assessed 'physical functioning' using the MOS SF-36, which assesses limitations on social and physical activities (because of physical or emotional problems), limitations in usual role activities because of physical health and emotional problems, bodily pain, general mental health, vitality and general health perceptions. These categories clearly reflect a wide range of symptoms beyond mere fatigue.
It was therefore reasonable for the headline to summarise the study as having found that sufferers "can overcome symptoms of ME with positive thinking and exercise". The phrase's appearance within inverted commas indicates that it is to be taken as a shorthand summary of the findings, and both Graded Exercise Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy are explained in the text of the article. Given
the NHS' definition of CBT as a "talking therapy" that helps patients deal with problems "in a more positive way" by "breaking down overwhelming problems into smaller parts and "showing [them] how to change these negative patterns to improve the way [they] feel", it is plainly not unreasonable to summarise it as 'positive thinking'.
Further, there is no suggestion that 'overcome', in context, means sufferers would be 'brought back to pre-illness functional levels', as has been suggested. The article makes clear that study subjects found their health improved, not restored ("...found that those who were encouraged to be more active and alter their mind-set suffered
less fatigue and were able to cope with daily life
more easily").
3. Methodology and viability of the PACE study and 'balance'
It is not for a general interest newspaper such as The Telegraph to be the arbiter of a study's methodology,
as IPSO has previously ruled. The study in question was peer-reviewed and published in The Lancet, a well known and highly respected medical journal, and we were entitled to summarise its findings.
Regarding complaints about 'balance', the Telegraph also published
this article by Jill Stratton as a counterpoint to the findings of the study reported here. Sufferers' views are therefore fully represented within our output.
I trust this is of some assistance.
Yours sincerely
Alexandra Gravett
Editorial Information Manager
