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 ensure that the NHS adheres to the MC/CFS NICE guidelines.

In October 2021, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidance for health and social care professionals ‘Myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome: diagnosis and management’, which is available at the following link:

http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng206

Whilst these are not mandatory, clinicians and commissioners are expected to take the guidance fully into account in designing services to meet the needs of the local population and work towards implementation over time.