Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the debate of 24 January 2019 on Appropriate ME Treatment, what recent discussions his Department has had with NICE on the potential merits of issuing an interim warning on the potential dangers of graded exercise therapy as a treatment for myalgic encephalomyelitis prior to issuing its revised guideline myalgic encephalomyelitis in October 2020.
Answer
The Department has had no such discussions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and responsible for developing its guidelines in accordance with its published methods and processes. NICE expects to publish its final updated guideline in October 2020 with a consultation on draft guidance starting in April 2020.