For many years, patients, charities and scientists have listed the deep flaws in studies promoting CBT and GET for ME/CFS, but NICE has accepted the research uncritically and a major part of its advice on the illness follows this approach. In the past, a majority of the members of the Guideline Committee have had a conflict of interest.

In the USA, this research has been rejected by the Centers for Disease Control, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. They and the National Institute of Health and the Institute of Medicine/National Academy do not consider CBT and GET to be effective.

There may be 250,000 patients with ME/CFS in the UK: NICE guidelines not only affect the way they are treated by the medical profession, but may be used by insurance companies and benefit agencies. These agencies may place inappropriate expectations on patients to undergo such therapies, despite a lack of evidence that they are safe, and in the case of GET, a strong response from patients that they can cause severe harm.

We call on NICE to ensure:

1. The process of deciding who determines the membership of the Guideline Committee is open and involves stakeholders.

2. Whoever appoints the members of the Guideline Committee does not have any involvement in research into CBT-GET or is currently using these interventions to try to treat ME/CFS or is a colleague of anyone associated with the CBT-GET model.

3. The selection of members of the Guideline Committee is also an open process and involves stakeholders.

4. No one who has previously been a member of an ME/CFS Guideline Committee is eligible to sit on this new committee.

5. No one with a conflict of interest is allowed to be a member of the Guideline Committee, and that conflict of interest includes any financial interest or researcher allegiance or close working association with someone linked to the CBT-GET model.

6. Stakeholders should have a right of appeal with cause against members selected.

Full letter sent to Sir Andrew Dillon: https://www.s4me.info/threads/grahams-finalised-letter-to-nice-january-2018.1885/

More information here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y6XFipQigE&feature=youtu.be

On the previous NICE Guideline Committee: https://www.coyneoftherealm.com/blo...based-on-political-considerations-an-exchange

And: https://meagenda.wordpress.com/2008/12/19/a-nice-dilemma-by-margaret-williams-part-two/