The Bristol University report which claims that £102m in earnings is lost to the UK economy every year because of the disabling effects of ME was the lead item in the the ITV West Country News programme on Thursday, 15 September 2011.
ME sufferer Russell Fleming, the report's lead author Dr Esther Crawley and Sir Peter Spencer, chief executive of Action for ME, were interviewed. Sir Peter commented that he thought the £102m figure was an under-estimate; he said the figure was at least ten times higher, and other studies backed that up.
To view the item, click HERE
There was a change-round in people being filmed further east – where ITV West Country broadcasts to the Bristol, Swindon and Gloucestershire areas. In this report, we see and hear from ME sufferer Alice Reeve, who lives in Cheltenham, Dr Crawley and see Russell again. Mr Fleming lives in Bodmin, Cornwall.
To view this report, click HERE.
The report was published yesterday in the open-access journal BMC Health Service Research.