One in 25 people develop fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome or ME. These disorders although distinct entities, are characterised by a wide collection of symptoms in particular; tiredness, disturbed sleep, pain and tenderness all over the whole body.

These syndromes cause significant pain and severe tiredness and have a significant impact on the quality of life.

A Working Party is to be set up by Ministry for Health to develop a Local Strategy. Though the causes of these syndromes are still not known, there is growing research and international standards of care on several aspects of these conditions.

People with these conditions need a wide range of quality support and treatment, from simple advice to specialised medical treatments which varies among individuals and at different stages of the disease. They have endured some of the longest waiting times for care.

The Government said that it is committed to improve services and outcomes for people suffering from fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and ME.

“The vision is that people with these conditions can access high-quality, effective and timely advice, assessment, diagnosis and treatment to enable them to fulfil their optimum health potential and remain independent, the Government said.

The Ministry for Health is setting up a working party to develop a local strategy and priorities for the management of these conditions. Champions for change need to be identified and the Government is keen to work in partnership with all stakeholders, including national and local voluntary organisations, to involve service users in developing a service framework which will form the basis for service development and delivery.

The convenor of this working party will be Professor Andrew Borg, Consultant Physician at Mater Dei and Professor of Medicine at the University of Malta.

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