United Kingdom: ME Association news

From the MEA's latest email circular - an update on the Tyson project:
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Research: The Index of ME Symptoms (TIMES) for ME/CFS

The ME Association is funding a study led by Prof Sarah Tyson (who also has ME) from the University of Manchester, to develop a clinical assessment toolkit in collaboration with people with ME and clinicians in NHS ME/CFS specialist services.

Professor Sarah Tyson says: "Many thanks to the thousands of you who have supported the clinical assessment toolkit project. We are now entering the final stages of the data collection, which is a busy time!"

The final stage of the research is to develop an assessment of ME/CFS symptoms, called The Index of ME Symptoms (TIMES) by working with people with ME/CFS and clinicians in specialist services.

We have completed the initial analysis for the TIMES, which assesses symptomology and we have made quite extensive revision in the light of that analysis and your feedback.

It is now much shorter and simpler with just one question per symptom, although there are still quite a lot of symptoms, as we need to be comprehensive. Therefore, we would now like to double-check that the revised version provides the robust data that we expect it to.

Please could you help by completing the following survey.

More information: https://meassociation.org.uk/pu41
Survey: https://www.qualtrics.manchester.ac.uk/jfe/form/SV_bknLxeAz0N3WkKO
 
Recognise ME – Raising Awareness in GP Practices
October 2, 2024
https://meassociation.org.uk/2024/10/recognise-me-raising-awareness-in-gp-practices/

The ME Association is committed to improving healthcare for people with ME/CFS. As one of the leading UK charities for people with ME/CFS, we believe that everyone, regardless of where they live in the UK, should have equal access to the best healthcare available.

This month, the ME Association has commissioned a distribution company to ensure leaflets and posters will be displayed in around 3,000 GP surgeries in the UK. Due to the company’s emphasis on monitoring usage, we will know the materials are on display, the number of leaflets being used, and when they need to be replaced.

This part of the campaign will run for 6 months, after which we will review results and decide if it’s worth continuing it on a regular basis and possibly extending (where possible) to include more surgeries – as part of an ongoing initiative to Recognise ME.

In addition, as many GP practices now utilise plasma screens in waiting rooms, we have purchased advertising space. The adverts will promote awareness and recommend that if people have symptoms, they should see their GP to check if they have ME/CFS.

The plasma screen adverts will be displayed throughout September and October 2024. We are grateful to the company for allowing us an extra month (Sept) without any charge!
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More at link.

The article includes copies of the posters and leaflets.
 
Well thats all well & good, not to disparage the campaign in any way.

However, ISTM that its the doctors, HCPs & admin staff who work in the surgeries that need their awareness raising, particularly with ref to the NICE GL, rather than the patients.

What happens when the patient does report those 4 'key symptoms' on the posters?
 
InitialConditions said:
These advocacy projects seem a little archaic to me. I can imagine these will unfortunately go straight in the bin at some practices.
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The three practices I visit all have noticeboards but none have anywhere to put leaflets.

They used to put them on the counters where people speak to the receptionists, but since cleaning routines changed due to Covid, surfaces are all kept clear for easier disinfection. Two of the practices had rotating stands for leaflets, but they disappeared in 2020 and haven't returned.

A5s are still really useful for displaying on small or crowded noticeboards, but practices might not need as many as they might have taken pre-pandemic.
 
InitialConditions said:
These advocacy projects seem a little archaic to me. I can imagine these will unfortunately go straight in the bin at some practices. EDIT: The plasma screen rental is probably a better idea so I hope that pays off.
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I’m all for anything that focuses on debunking the fatigue misinformation

and wonder whether the upside of these things is that I’ve realised healthy people go to the GP more than I realised . And everyone is a hostage in that waiting room. Not all of them have Wi-Fi phone reception etc. people might not have their phone or be over-optimistic it’s not worth getting it out as they won’t be there that long

most other occasions posters get ignored or half-read. But the number I’ve read in full - tho don’t go overboard on small print it’s just that if you have a few points that end in a penny drop at least people might read all the bullets

any change in numbers of people who get’ PEM hammered into them and that someone they know might be highly disabled but ‘don’t look fatigued’ at work it ‘can walk when I see them’ is a good start. And if it gets any fatigue posters down then great.

it’s allied services, teachers, dentists, family members and friends of friends

having no one who will get it or hear you when you explain it’s not fatigue like they imagine fibro but debilitating crashes where you can’t lift your arms then you see them for a certain time another point and they’ve saved energy and seem ok etc.

And that overdoing it causes long term deterioration, not just ‘oops you’ll feel tired after that day out’ meaning you need to rest on Sunday cos I got you out the house etc

well that can make the difference between utter desperation with having no one fir someone and us slowly getting advocates who will understand and the odd friend or colleague who heard. And it’s always a friend of a friend who suggests, but then how many times do you need to read the same to believe it if it’s you?

I agree it’s hard to compete with the screen if that’s got fatigue messages on it but it’s repetitive and seems to always be certain things everyone already knows

I’m talking in theory here from the ‘tech in the future’ days when I was doing my marketing course so it might not exist for good reasons but there used to be talk of having ‘push communications’ to phones from eg certain locations

certainly I suspect I’ve had certain things appear on my social media feeds just because I’ve googled something that’s only tenuously related. Like search equipment or prognosis for someone else’s injury and end up with other stuff on a social media feed.

of course you mightnt trust that - but if it’s the same organisation someone saw in gp surgery first then more trust and that reinforcement (don’t have to be exact repeats but coherent message in a campaign of ‘seven times’) helps.

if more people in general get it when we talk about how ‘yes we mean you who thinks it’s fatigue’ when we say the condition is misunderstood , instead of assuming they aren’t the bigots ‘cos they know we get really tired’ that would really help with getting heard in the need for actual medical care not therapists to teach to be positive issue

of course we need medicine to understand too but …
 
Kitty said:
The three practices I visit all have noticeboards but none have anywhere to put leaflets.

They used to put them on the counters where people speak to the receptionists, but since cleaning routines changed due to Covid, surfaces are all kept clear for easier disinfection. Two of the practices had rotating stands for leaflets, but they disappeared in 2020 and haven't returned.

A5s are still really useful for displaying on small or crowded noticeboards, but practices might not need as many as they might have taken pre-pandemic.
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There are parts in mine where they are on the wall - even if they aren’t the major waiting room

my old surgery it was a whole cabinet in that main waiting room and all round the receptionist area . There was a lot of queuing eg to talk to receptionist even so ones in the foyer even made sense

it’s a shame you have to go through head office but chemists might be good too. On wall fir when waiting but people will still have to wait at check out and if they are on desk to pick up that’s great. Plus it catches people just buying supplements or what not rather than just prescriptions

and chemists are taking on more things like sore throats and so on so have appointment rooms.

if we could get pharmacists understanding PEM and proper definition of ME/CFS that would be a win because of their interactions with medics and place on ICBs etc and I don’t know if they will overlap with clinical pharmacists at Gp etc

plus you never know - if we ever had our dream research led centres - I’d like to see scientists there and does doing a science course like pharmacy mean their friendship circle might include eg scientific researchers?
 
https://meassociation.org.uk/2024/1...erds-presentation-to-the-stockport-me-group/?


ME Association:

ME/CFS: Watch Dr Shepherd’s presentation to the Stockport ME Group
October 24, 2024
Recently, Dr Charles Shepherd gave a presentation toStockport ME Group on Friday 11th of October and it has been added to their YouTube channel.

Here is an overview of the subjects covered:

Read the transcript (via the button) and/or listen to the YouTube video below

Transcript
https://meassociation.org.uk/wp-con...anscript-Dr-Charles-Shepherd-Presentation.pdf



https://twitter.com/user/status/1849417880804225505
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I read the transcript. The fact that MEA is setting up a "Health and Social Care department" suggests that at least they know where to focus their efforts at the moment. And this sounds interesting:
And the one Integrated Care Board that I've been working with in particular on this, is Suffolk and Northeast Essex, where we've reached a point where we have - it's not in public domain - produced, what I think is a good clinical care plan which takes account of all aspects of the NICE guideline
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Anyone know anything more about it? The one criticism that I'd make - other than the fact that he places too much weight on poor-quality biomedical research - is:
but also from the point of view of the specialist services, which are, of course all outpatient services, and the fact that they should provide some sort of domiciliary home visiting service for people with severe ME
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Personally, I would be horrified if the existing "specialist services" set up domiciliary provision. There doesn't seem to be an understanding that what we need is an entirely new service model.
 
https://twitter.com/user/status/1858155798846734777
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The @MEAssociation published an article by their Chairman in the ME Essentials Magazine in which he condescends and mocks ME patients.

I’m utterly astonished that they felt it was appropriate to publish this.

Thank god I withdrew as one of their
'Champion Bloggers'.

#PwME
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More discussion of the MEA Chairman's articles and the MEA's responses to criticism of them here:
https://www.s4me.info/threads/united-kingdom-me-association-governance-issues.42093/page-8
 
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Expect it's been posted on one of the threads - will delete if it has:

Full time Fundraising Officer: 25-27K

https://twitter.com/user/status/1858528191595307128



Situations Vacant: Fundraising Officer - CLOSING DATE: Monday 25th November 2024 The ME Association are looking for a highly organised person to join our Fundraising Team. As Fundraising Officer, you’ll play a vital role in securing funding to help people with ME/ CFS, making a positive difference to thousands of peoples lives. Apply via our listing on CharityJobs - https://charityjob.co.uk/jobs/the-me-association/fundraising-officer/994209… #MECFS #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #LongCovid #JobVacancy #JobOpportunity #FundraisingOfficer #Fundraising
 
Fainbrog said:
Anyone looked at the MEA FB page today? I’m not sure I dare..it’ll rile me either way, I suspect.
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I just looked

they didn’t post this (that I could see) they’re currently fighting another fire they accidentally started @Trish does this need its own thread or is this thread the right one please?
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The post is about the University of Derby Long Covid research team winning an award. The MEA posted below saying University of Derby Hospital Trust is merging ME/CFS and Long Covid Services. There is a link “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome UDHT”

The MEA then posts “oh dear- the patient info leaflet is very out of date and still recommending GET, we will write to Derby tomorrow -CS”

The MEA then sub posts on its own comment
“graded activity/exercise
Physical activity is important for general health, reducing fatigue and pain, increasing muscle strength, improving concentration and helping sleep. A programme of physical activity or exercise with manageable levels is agreed where appropriate to each individual.”
 
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MrMagoo said:
The MEA then sub posts on its own comment
“graded activity/exercise
Physical activity is important for general health, reducing fatigue and pain, increasing muscle strength, improving concentration and helping sleep. A programme of physical activity or exercise with manageable levels is agreed where appropriate to each individual.”
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Just for clarity: This comment quotes the the criticized leaflet, it's not an actual comment, but cites what the MEA intents to point out as outdated.

link to leaflet: here
 
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