Chair of the Assembly Cross Party Group on Neurological Conditions, Mark Isherwood AM, has called on the Health Secretary to address the lack of appropriate healthcare services in Wales for people with ME.
In the Assembly Chamber yesterday, Mr Isherwood asked the Health Secretary what support services the Welsh Government has in place for patients with long-term, fluctuating health conditions and was told “We have a wide range of policies designed to help support people with long-term, fluctuating health conditions to maximise their quality of life for as long as possible”.
But Mr Isherwood is concerned that they are not receiving the support they need.
He said:
“Given evidence that the suicide rate amongst people with the neurological condition myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME, is more than six times higher than that of the general population, what actions is the Welsh Government taking to move forward with the recommendations set out in the ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia Task and Finish Group’s August 2014 report to address the lack of appropriate healthcare services for people with ME?”
The Health Secretary said he would write to Mr Isherwood as he didn’t “have the specific detail to answer the detail of that question”.