IoS letters, emails & online postings (2 December 2012) https://www.independent.co.uk/voice...-online-postings-2-december-2012-8373777.html Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME is a debilitating condition affecting some 1 per cent of the UK population (“ME: bitterest row yet in a long saga”, 25 November). We believe this serious illness needs improved treatments and care, and that research is central to making this happen. However, researchers in the field have been the target of a campaign to undermine their work and professional credibility. This harassment risks undermining research in the field, preventing the development of new treatments and discouraging specialist clinicians from entering the field. We fear that this may have resulted in patients not receiving the best treatments or care – staying ill for longer and not being able to live their life to its full potential. So it is with sadness that we read in The Independent on Sunday reports of false allegations made against Simon Wessely - one of the few UK clinicians with a specialist interest in treating CFS/ME and someone who has done pioneering research in the field. Ironically, it was because of accusations like this that Professor Wessely received the award in the first place. Professor Peter White, Professor of Psychological Medicine, Queen Mary University of London Professor Michael Sharpe, Professor of Psychological Medicine, University of Oxford Dr Esther Crawley, Reader in Child Health, University of Bristol Professor Stephen Holgate CBE, MRC Clinical Professor of Immunopharmacology, University of Southampton Professor Rona Moss-Morris, Head of Health Psychology, King’s College London Dr Charlotte Feinmann, Reader , UCL Professor Hugo Critchley, Chair in Psychiatry, Brighton and Sussex Medical School Dr Brian Angus, Reader in Infectious Diseases, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of oxford Dr Steven Reid, Clinical Director for Psychological Medicine, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust Professor Patrick Doherty, Professor of Rehabilitation, York St John University Professor Paul Little, Professor of Primary Care Research, University of Southampton Dr Maurice Murphy, HIV Consultant, Barts Health NHS Trust Professor Tim Peto, Consultant in Infectious Diseases and General Medicine, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford Professor Sir Mansel Aylward, Chair, Public Health Wales, Cardiff University Dr Alastair Miller, Consultant Physician, Royal Liverpool University Hospital Professor Diane Cox, Professor of Occupational Therapy, University of Cumbria Professor Jonathan Sterne, Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, University of Bristol Dr Margaret May, Reader in Medical Statistics, University of Bristol Professor George Davey-Smith, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, University of Bristol Dr Jade Thai, Senior Research Fellow, University of Bristol Dr Gabrielle Murphy, Clinical Lead Physician, Fatigue Service, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust Dr Hazel O'Dowd, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and CFS/ME Team Leader, Frenchay Hospital Bristol Dr Brian Marien, Director, Positive Health Professor Willie Hamilton, Professor of Primary Care Diagnostics, University of Exeter Dr Selwyn Richards, Consultant Rheumatologist, Poole Hospital NHS Trust Professor Alison Wearden, Professor of Health Psychology, University of Manchester Professor Trudie Chalder, Department of Psychological Medicine, King’s College London.
We believe this serious illness needs improved treatments and care, and that biomedical research is central to making this happen. However, biomedical researchers in the field have been the target of a campaign to undermine their work and professional credibility. This harassment risks undermining research in the field, preventing the development of new treatments and discouraging specialist clinicians from entering the field. We fear that this may have resulted in patients not receiving the best treatments or care – staying ill for longer and not being able to live their life to its full potential. Signed, everyone else.
(everyone except Paul Garner, who seems to have been a bit late coming to the full-on BPS party, and Simon Wessely, who could hardly have signed that 2012 letter saying how wonderful and brave he is, that's what he has acolytes for.) Edit - oh, probably a few others too - see the Anomalies paper. Maybe the Independent had a limit on how many signatures could be attached to a letter.
Interesting. Given some sort of three-line-whip I imagine was involved for those with the career aspirations most dependent, I'm struck at how short and geographically clustered/niche the list of 26 people is actually. A lot of Bristol, Oxford and King's with a few from niche depts of Southampon, Sussex, Manchester, Cardiff. Worth noting the massive psychology departments that are present at many other large universities, certainly back then, don't feature?
I found the following from Margaret Williams whilst searching for what this letter has termed as 'false allegations' but history has now taught me in this means I could actually be looking for anything: http://www.margaretwilliams.me/2012/arise-sir-simon.pdf I'm not sure that I'm any the wiser in this particular question, but I guess that's the point of the PR However, If all correct this article goes onto some highly fascinating notes about his approach to Gulf War Syndrome: My bolding - sorry but I couldn't help but note the whiff of familiarity in this from e.g. BPSm's current suggestion that the 'recovery anecdotes from those who say they have recovered' should be focused on via Recovery Norge/Norway etc. I just can't help but think how can someone think that is a contribution to epidemiology? Sounds rather familiar of seeming to focus on not investigating or getting to the bottom of and almost avoiding the ability for anything to be found?
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME ME/CFS is a debilitating condition affecting some 1 per cent 0.4% of the UK population (“ME: bitterest row yet in a long saga”, 25 November). We believe this serious illness needs improved treatments and care, and that research is central to making this happen. However, some misguided and prejudiced researchers in the field have been the target instigators of a campaign to undermine their work and professional patients' credibility. This harassment risks undermining research in the field patients' health, preventing the development of new treatments and discouraging ethical and competent specialist clinicians from entering the field. We fear that this may have resulted in patients not receiving the best treatments or care – staying ill for longer and not being able to live their life to its full potential. So it is with sadness that we read in The Independent on Sunday reports of false allegations made against a prize being awarded to Simon Wessely - one of the few too many UK clinicians with a specialist interest in treating CFS/ME ME/CFS with ineffective and harmful treatment and someone who has done pioneering unscientific research in the field. Ironically, it was because of accusations against patients like this that Professor Wessely received the award in the first place.
Everyone who signed that letter, and Wessely himself of course, should be ashamed of themselves, and should be barred from having anything to do with ME/CFS for ever. Sadly, they are mostly still in post over a decade later.
On his own admission, in his official study of Gulf War veterans, Wessely performed no clinical examination or laboratory investigations. Just following in the grand tradition of psychosomatics. See Beard & McEvedy, 1970 (a & b).
The list of signatories might be useful in this thread: https://www.s4me.info/threads/bps-organizations-and-structures.35508/#post-496551 I haven't copied it across because I don't follow the BPS stuff; I'm not sure how which of them were/are active as clinicians and which were just brown-nosing.
He has? Because he made a few comments about his research some years ago, can't remember where, and he didn't have anything to mention other than he thought it was depression, then realized it isn't, even though this is what most MDs believe, and that they renamed it CFS, which is one of the worst thing to have happened. Which is obviously neither pioneering nor an accomplishment. And now I guess they're going with syndromes, plural. Or whatever. Not only didn't he pioneer anything, he didn't actually contribute anything. I know this is an old letter, but even Wessely can't name an actual accomplishment. Which is normal since there has been zero progress thanks to ideologues like Wessely. Although now with Long Covid it's clear that the problems are far deeper and in the whole profession.
Also, of course the allegations were false. The ones made by Wessely and his gang anyway. Allegations which later morphed into being trolled on the Internet, which even they walked back. And still the threats are repeated to this day, even though they were debunked.
