Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support children and young people with ME/CFS.

We published the final delivery plan (FDP) for myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), on 22 July, which focuses on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.

To support healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and management of ME/CFS, as set out in the FDP, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has worked with NHS England to develop an e-learning programme on ME/CFS for healthcare professionals, with the aim of supporting staff to be able to provide better care and improve patient outcomes. All three sessions, with sessions one and two having universal access, whilst the third session is only available to healthcare professionals, of the e-learning programme are now available at the following link:

https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/mecfselearning?nodeId=7288

The Medical Schools Council will promote the NHS England e-learning programme on ME/CFS to all United Kingdom medical schools and will encourage those medical schools to provide undergraduates with direct patient experience of ME/CFS. The General Medical Council (GMC) is the regulator of medical schools, and it is important that education is reenforced at different stages of medical training. Royal colleges play an important role in this. The GMC has included ME/CFS in the content map for the new national exam, so all medical schools will need to teach it as a subject.

As outlined in the FDP, we will improve awareness of ME/CFS by launching a public awareness initiative to promote wider awareness and understanding of the condition and support available to people with ME/CFS and their families.

DHSC will also engage stakeholders to discuss timely diagnosis and support for children who have ME/CFS and their families, as well as best practice in relation to safeguarding responsibilities. This will be taken forward in parallel with NHS England’s actions on ME/CFS services and neighbourhood multidisciplinary teams for children and young people.

Furthermore, as outlined in the FDP, the Department for Education is encouraging the sharing of ME/CFS-specific information with relevant organisations and promoting relevant training and resources to support children and young people.