Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to put in place a new reporting system to enable myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome patients to report harms resulting from graded exercise therapy following the publication of the updated NICE guidelines on myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome.

There are no plans to put in place a new reporting system to enable myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients to report harms resulting from graded exercise therapy. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s updated guideline does not recommend the use of graded exercise therapy in the management of ME/CFS and clinicians are expected to take this recommendation fully into account in the care and treatment of individual patients.

All patients have the right to make a complaint about any aspect of National Health Service care, treatment or service, and this is firmly written into the NHS Constitution. Most hospitals have a Patient Advice and Liaison Service which can be contacted if there is a problem with the treatment or care received while in hospital.