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 ensure that integrated care boards are held accountable for commissioning services for those with very severe ME/CFS the absence of a national specialised service.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are expected to commission services for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) across all levels of severity, including those with severe and very severe ME/CFS, in line with national standards, service specifications and clinical access policies set by NHS England. Prioritisation and funding remain at the discretion of ICBs.

Officials have begun work to develop a template service specification for mild and moderate ME/CFS. This template will provide best practice examples to guide the commissioning of services for ME/CFS and will now include reference to severe ME/CFS as an interim support measure.

To help support healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and management of ME/CFS, the Department has worked with NHS England to develop an e-learning programme for healthcare professionals. All four sessions of the e‑learning programme are now available, with sessions one, two and three having universal access, while the fourth session, which focuses on the management of severe ME/CFS, is only available to healthcare professionals. The e-learning is available at the following link: https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/mecfselearning?nodeId=7288