The good old NICE guidlines are in the limelight again, although this time things are looking more positive for people with ME.
Last August NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence ) issued guidlines for the treatment of ME/CFS. In the guidelines, NICE refused to classify ME as "a disease of the nervous system", as the World Health Organisation has done, and recommended treatments which could be"harmful to patients" i.e cognitive behavioural therapy(CBT) and graded exercise therapy (GET).
NICE also specifically advised against the use of other types of treatment – in particular antiviral drugs. Consequently, doctors would not be able to obtain funding for treatments that were not recommended or were being proscribed (ie forbidden) by NICE in the guideline.
The good news is that two ME sufferer's have won a significant legal victory after a leading judge declared it "in the public interest" for the High Court to rule on claims that these treatments being offered on the NHS are "potentially fatal".
The case will now go ahead to a full High Court hearing. A brilliant outcome, and perhaps the most positive ME news ever.
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