Mr, John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the estimated number of ME sufferers in Northern Ireland; if he will assess the advantage of providing a clinic to diagnose and manage ME: if she will examine best practice elsewhere in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement.[15914]
§ Mr. WorthingtonInformation is not collected centrally on the numbers of patients presenting with ME. Data are collected on finished consultant episodes in Northern Ireland hospitals. In 1996–97, the latest year for which information is provisionally available, there were 29 finished consultant episodes with a diagnosis of "postviral fatigue syndrome". In 11 of these cases, "postviral fatigue syndrome" was the primary diagnosis.
272WThe report of the Royal Colleges of Physicians, Psychiatrists and General Practitioners produced in 1996 concluded that most patients with ME should be managed in primary care and that the needs of those patients who do require specialist care could be addressed through a reconfiguration of general hospital services. I have asked Health and Social Services Boards for their views as to how services for people with ME and other similar conditions could be improved.