“Things have changed significantly over the past couple of years. The way we operate as a service has changed due to the pandemic, the incidence of post-covid syndrome and the updated NICE guidelines.”
Marina is grateful for the NHS Worcestershire ME/CFS Specialist Services information on the Worcestershire ME Social Group website, and tells us that they are going through the same process themselves but have not been able to make the necessary changes yet. The Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust website (including the ME/CFS service section) is developed and maintained by the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust Communications Team so any changes have to go through them.
She added -
“This is helpful from a technical point of view but does slow the process down. We understand the local ME/CFS and Post Covid Syndrome Services is about to enter into an audit to check that our service is operating in line with the NICE guidelines, and the website will be updated as part of this.”
Marina continued -
“In the midst of the day-to-day busyness, the audit will be a welcome opportunity to take stock and help to direct any changes or improvements that we need to make. As ever, we are committed to providing a high-quality service to people with ME/CFS across Herefordshire and Worcestershire. There has been a huge amount of work and, to be very honest, it has felt overwhelming at times. It is the reason why I haven't kept in touch with you and the wider ME social group, for which I apologise.
From your website, it doesn't look like you are meeting as a social group at the moment but when you start again, I would like to come and update people on some of the changes, catch up with familiar faces, etc. I will write a summary for your website as soon as I can but please forgive me if that is delayed - as you can see, we have work to do to get our own website up to date first!”
Contact information for the Worcestershire ME/CFS and Post-Covid Syndrome Services, through Malvern Community Hospital. (01684 612671, [email protected] and their webpage NHS Worcestershire ME/CFS Specialist Services.
We await further news from Marina Townend and her team.
• N.H.S. • Post COVID Syndrome (Long COVID) • Worcestershire