Jo Platt

I completely agree. As my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) mentioned, there is confusion about what chronic fatigue is and what ME is; there needs to be differentiation and clarification on those conditions. We all understand chronic fatigue, but ME is different. It is not just tiredness; they are complex issues. Many of those who are severely affected cannot even sit upright. They are confined to darkened rooms, often tube-fed, cut off from the world and too often ignored by the very health system that is meant to protect them. Long covid has only added to that burden. Millions are affected, half of whom meet the criteria for ME. Next Tuesday, Parliament will host the first drop-in session of the Overlapping Illness Alliance, which will raise awareness of ME, long covid and related conditions, and I urge colleagues from across the House to attend. The Government’s ME delivery plan is a welcome step. NHS e-learning service specifications and small research grants are progress, but they are not enough, particularly for severe ME. The scale of the challenge demands ambition, accountability and strategic investment. We need specialised NHS services for ME, we need urgent support for children whose education is disrupted, and we need co-ordinated action across health, social care, education and employment. Research is central to progress. DecodeME has shown the brilliance of UK science, but funding remains far too limited. Germany has pledged €500 million to research with the aim of curing ME by the next decade. We need to be just as ambitious, but we must also confront the misinformation and bias on ME that has plagued us for decades. Patients are dying from nutritional failure because there is no commissioned service for severe ME. Some spend hundreds of pounds in hospital on private care without a proper pathway. Lives are at risk now and we cannot wait for long-term provision while patients suffer. That is why, alongside the APPG, I am calling for the commissioning of specialised NHS services for severe and very severe ME with expertise in nutritional failure, and I would welcome the chance to meet the Government to discuss immediate solutions that can save lives today. Will the Minister commit to improving data collection so that we can better understand risks and create the foundations for effective care? The Government have taken steps in the right direction, but more must be done. As chair of both APPGs, I will continue to work with the community and the Government to do that.