Hove MP Celia Barlow is pressing Sussex Primary Care Trusts to give more financial support to local services for ME patients.

Celia who is patron to the Sussex ME Society has again written to the PCTs asking what plans they have to assist the specialist service based in Mid Sussex to develop enabling it to deal more effectively with a waiting list of people requiring confirmation diagnosis and specialist management. The service also needs to be able to provide more domiciliary assessments for those that are severely affected and cannot travel.

The popular NHS service was set up in 2005 following work carried out by a group of Sussex PCT officers and the Sussex ME Society and has had over 2,000 referrals. The multidisciplinary team consists of two specialist doctors along with three physiotherapists, one psychologist and three occupational therapists that deal with referrals at three sites across the county.

Celia says: “The hard working Mid Sussex team are doing an admirable job considering the limited tools and resources at their disposal but urgently needs to be financially supported by the local PCTs.” “Some PCTs have been more helpful than others in this regard”