What action is the Government taking to assist patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) to be diagnosed and treated?
The Welsh Government is continuing to work with the Neurological Conditions Implementation Group (NCIG) to improve services for all those living with neurological conditions across Wales, including people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). The NCIG has developed a draft quality statement for neurological conditions scheduled for publication in quarter 2 of this year.
Quality Statements set out Welsh Governments expectations for clinical services for the parliamentary term. They are important documents that will inform national oversight of NHS delivery through the planning framework and the performance management system. We expect health boards, trusts, and Special Health Authorities to respond to quality statements through their planning processes.
While we are not currently funding active ME research projects via Health and Care Research Wales, the Welsh Government offers a range of research funding opportunities that are open and available to researchers with an interest in ME.
We also participate in a range of UK funding programmes – such as the Health Technology Assessment Programme and the Health Services and Delivery Research Programmes – which are run by the National Institute for Health Research, and are similarly open to researchers from Wales and across the UK who have an interest in ME.