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Dept of Health

Answer

Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (a) in Burnley, (b) within the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust and (c) within the East Lancashire NHS Trust; and if he will make a statement. [186740] Dr. Ladyman: The Department has no plans to institute special data collection exercises for specific diseases, conditions, syndromes or injuries. Central monitoring and reporting is limited to that information needed to demonstrate progress against the targets set out in "National Standards, Local Action: Health and Social care Standards and Planning Framework 2005/06-2007/08", published by the Department on 21 July 2004; and for contractual purposes. Additional monitoring is kept to a minimum in favour of local performance management systems, exception reporting and independent inspections. The report of the independent chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalopathy working group, published in January 2002, estimated a population prevalence of around 0.2 to 0.4 per cent. in adults and around 0.07 per cent. in children. It made no analysis of regional variations.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

424 c1071W; 186740

Session

2003-04

Subjects

ME/CFS Diagnosis Patients Burnley Lancashire East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk