Carol Monaghan asks question of Prime Minister in PM’s questions today 27th March

Binkie4

Binkie4

Senior Member (Voting Rights)
A few minutes ago, Carol Monaghan asked a question in the House about children ( with ME) being removed from loving families .

I didn’t get the whole of her question - sound was off and I had to quickly turn it up- but Prime Minister answered something to the effect that she wasn’t aware of this but would look into it.

Good for Carol to get this question asked in the current Parliamentary chaos.

ETA: could someone who tweets tweet our thanks to Carol for this?

ETA2: how else can this be used to progress our concerns?

ETA3: can those who have lots of followers on twitter especially send thanks so as to get this trending, (or whatever it’s called).
 
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I saw it too. The question was about how children with ME are often taken away from their parents as a response to refusing to undertake GET. As you say, May did not know about the issue and promised to look into it.
 
great - MPs go into a ballot for a chance to ask a Q at PMQs
it is a testament to the commitment of Carol M to the cause of ME that she has used her very valuable opportunity to raise an issue at this level to raise this really important issue for our communtity.
It would have been understandable to have picked up a brexit issue because of the different issues (no majority in Scotland for leave).
 
Binkie4 said:
A few minutes ago, Carol Monaghan asked a question in the House about children ( with ME) being removed from loving families .


ETA2: how else can this be used to progress our concerns?
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under normal circumstances I would have said a call for everyone to write to the PM expressing concern - however it is also the case that these sort of campaign letters get a standard response from an official or junior minister in the relevant department.

the best way to highlight to PM is to ask MP to write to her although again it will likely get delegated to department of Health for reply

I would suggest the very best approach to highlight to PM would be for people in her constituency to raise it as constituents and attempt to meet her at a constituency surgery

ETA no doubt the MPs group have other ideas and this may be on CM radar. Eg getting together to sign a group letter to ask her for a meeting about it. I would think Nicky Morgan's name on the letter would be helpful with that
 
NelliePledge said:
under normal circumstances I would have said a call for everyone to write to the PM expressing concern - however it is also the case that these sort of campaign letters get a standard response from an official or junior minister in the relevant department.

the best way to highlight to PM is to ask MP to write to her although again it will likely get delegated to department of Health for reply

I would suggest the very best approach to highlight to PM would be for people in her constituency to raise it as constituents and attempt to meet her at a constituency surgery

ETA no doubt the MPs group have other ideas and this may be on CM radar. Eg getting together to sign a group letter to ask her for a meeting about it. I would think Nicky Morgan's name on the letter would be helpful with that
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I was in touch with my MP last week during all those awful features. He committed to talking to Carol.

ETA: am crashed and may disappear.
 
And just like that, May has committed to stepping down if her Brexit plan is approved. So, without bringing politics into this, and understanding priorities, such as they are...well, I never have expectations when it comes to this sort of thing, although Monaghan has been tremendous. But I wonder if it sort of becomes like what happened with Obama some years back when Courtney Miller asked him a direct question, and he promised to have the situation looked into. The person he tasked that with was busy with the 2012 campaign and following the election left the administration...leaving a complete dead end, but he covered his ass as best he could (not that there'd ever be another opportunity like that to raise the issue with him directly).

I might just be a tad cynical though.
 
Trish said:
I think the point is the question is now on record, as is May's promise to get the relevant minister to look into it. So even if current upheavals delay things, Carol Monaghan can justifiably press them for an answer.
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And frankly the absolute best angle. There are so many consequences to our circumstances that are hard to understand. Parents of sick children being accused of causing their child's illness is monstrous, nightmare-inducing for any rational parent who would wonder how that is even possible in this day and age.

Wessely once said this rarely ever happens, if at all. Maybe that's true, that most proceedings end up siding with the parents, but that's a damn weak justification for something that should never happen. And the failure rate would be indicative of a failed system. Things have to be extremely broken to get to this point, emphasizing how disastrous the status quo is.

Would be good to raise on the NICE committee. I think TYMES has the necessary info? I saw some tidbits in passing but haven't really seen a quick summary on how many proceedings happen. I think the accused are gagged as well?
 
rvallee said:
I think TYMES has the necessary info?
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Jane Colby of the Tymes Trust talks about the incidence of this closely related (and equally insane) issue, where paediatrician ME psychiatrists accuse parents of children with ME of causing their child's illness, and then reporting the parents to social services for child abuse.

I believe this reporting occurs in cases where the parents accept that the child's illness is a real biological disease, in contradiction to the paediatrician psychiatrists, who erroneously think that ME/CFS is an "all in the mind" condition caused merely by the child's belief that she is ill. So these crazy psychiatrists think the parents are encouraging the child's "illness beliefs" and thereby causing the ME.


At timecode 25:37 of episode 4 of this set of podcasts, Colby states that in recent years she has dealt with over 200 cases of parents being reported for the "child abuse" of believing that their kid's illness is real.

Note that there are two podcasts on the page named "episode 4", the Colby one is the second of the two. (Thanks to @Trish who originally linked me to that podcast).

In Medieval times, people believed that illnesses resulted from being possessed by bad spirits; these psychiatrists have similar backwards Medieval ideas: they maintain that illnesses like ME are due to having bad thoughts.
 
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rvallee said:
And frankly the absolute best angle. There are so many consequences to our circumstances that are hard to understand. Parents of sick children being accused of causing their child's illness is monstrous, nightmare-inducing for any rational parent who would wonder how that is even possible in this day and age.

Wessely once said this rarely ever happens, if at all. Maybe that's true, that most proceedings end up siding with the parents, but that's a damn weak justification for something that should never happen. And the failure rate would be indicative of a failed system. Things have to be extremely broken to get to this point, emphasizing how disastrous the status quo is.

Would be good to raise on the NICE committee. I think TYMES has the necessary info? I saw some tidbits in passing but haven't really seen a quick summary on how many proceedings happen. I think the accused are gagged as well?
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According to Thymes it happens to 20% of all families of children with ME. That is a huge number, we’re talking 5000 families (based on 25k children with ME in the UK).
 
In my experience the school raised the question of legal action regarding ‘attendance issues ‘ after my son had been ill for 3+ years and he wasn’t improving on a schedule that suited their attendance targets. Fortunately we had good medical support so the threat was never mentioned again, but things continued to be difficult even tho said child was improving by then.

They came down very hard from day one when the second child fell ill, it took 3 months to get any support even though she was in an exam year. I’ll add that individual teachers who knew the children and us as a family were helpful, but the problem was with a particular member of senior management through their GCSES who didn’t want to listen and understand. 6th form was great, in the same school but different management.

I’ve never personally heard of a family that had a child taken into care, but certainly the pressure is there all the time. And that is just wrong, as is having to constantly fight for support and try and educate everyone around!
 
The mere threat of removing children is bad enough on its own, even if it doesn't actually happen.

I look forward to the day when the families so terrorised by this savagery can safely tell their story.

On that day I wouldn't want to be in Esther Crawley's shoes for all the money and power in the world.
 
2kidswithME said:
I’ve never personally heard of a family that had a child taken into care, but certainly the pressure is there all the time. And that is just wrong, as is having to constantly fight for support and try and educate everyone around!
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So do I understand that the paediatricians who were dealing with your kids' ME made hints or threats to you that they could take your kids away at any time?

Did you breathe a sigh of relief when your kids reached 16, which I believe is the age at which they can no longer be taken away without their consent?



2kidswithME said:
And that is just wrong, as is having to constantly fight for support and try and educate everyone around!
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Absolutely, every single ME patient or their carers has to go through this long and difficult process of trying to educate every around them, including their doctors sometimes, which can take years, and even then some don't believe you.
 
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