Bristol M.E. Service News

Bristol M.E. Service and the 2021 NICE Guideline

We welcome the publication of the update NICE Guideline, and acknowledge the huge amount of work which has gone in to producing this expanded and updated Guideline. There is a detailed statement about the new Guideline produced by BACME, and our Service fully supports the position which BACME have taken regarding this new advice: https://www.bacme.info/sites/bacme.info/files/BACME%20Press%20Statement%20NICE%20Guideline%20publication%20Oct%202021.pdf

Bristol M.E. Service and Coronavirus

We have continued to offer outpatient appointments by converting them to telephone and video appointments. Please do not come to the clinic, but make sure that you are available by telephone or video at the time of your appointment. We will call you as close to your appointment time as possible.

If you need to contact us, you may prefer to email us on BristolME@nbt.nhs.uk as our phone can be busy.

We are now able to offer groups using online video conferencing, but we have no plans to offer face-to-face groups at present.

Covid-19 and ME/CFS

At present, we are advising our patients to follow the most up-to-date Government advice about infection control. We are unable to offer more specific advice, because there is a lack of good evidence regarding ME/CFS and Covid-19. Some people with ME/CFS will be aware that when they have any infection, they tend to experience worse symptoms and these take some time to settle. However it is important to be aware that the immune system is still functioning and will be dealing with the infection.  Continuing to manage your health through activity management, supportive routines, appropriate rest, maintaining contact with others  and also managing stress can help not only CFS/ME but any infection, the recovery period and the impact of isolation.

For more information on Coronavirus, please visit www.nhs.uk/coronavirus

Bristol M.E. Service is a specialist NHS Service for people with ME/CFS which has been offering evidence-based care since 2004.

We offer an outpatient service to people living in Bristol, North Somerset, and Gloucestershire. We can offer a combination of telephone, video and face-to-face contact, and can offer support individually in in groups. Part of our role is to advise and support other Health Care Professionals in the clinical management of people with M.E./CFS.

The clinical team includes Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Psychologists, as we offer a multidisciplinary team approach. We do not currently employ a medic as there are no evidence-based medications for ME/CFS which cannot be prescribed by a GP. We maintain close links with other hospital specialties within North Bristol NHS Trust, at United Bristol and Weston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Gloucester Royal Hospital.

Find our more about referral information including the checklist of required blood tests.

ME/CFS Research

The Bristol M.E. Service has ongoing involvement in research, and we are currently recruiting patients to take part in the GEM Study which is asking how common are genetic diseases in adults treated for ME/CFS. If people with Pompe disease or LGMD2A are currently being treated in ME/CFS clinics, we need to find a way to identify these people and offer effective treatment. The study is open to all of our patients who have been newly assessed since August 2020 and given a diagnosis of ME/CFS. To find out more about the study, visit https://www.bristol.ac.uk/academic-child-health/research/research/genetics/gemstudy/

We would also like to bring your attention to the Decode ME study run by the ME/CFS Biomedical Partnership, which is a large DNA study aiming to recruit 20,000 participants. To find out more about the study, visit www.decodeme.org.uk/