May be reposted.

 

FORMAL COMPLAINT TO THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE INFORMATION AUTHORITY

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Re: Inaccurate classification of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in

Mental Health Minimum Data Set (MHMDS)

 

This is not the first time that I have pointed out to the NHSIA that CFS

is not classified as a psychiatric illness by the World Health

Organisation and that it has been placed under the wrong ICD code in

Section 27.1 of the MHMDS on the NHSIA website.

 

This is a very serious administrative error which I understood was going

to be corrected.  However, nothing has ever happened. And an important

and unacceptable practical consequence of the continuing inaccurate WHO

classification of CFS as a psychiatric disorder is the fact that people

with this illness are being denied benefits on the grounds that they

have a mental health disorder - even though there may be no clinical

evidence of any psychiatric illness being present.  In fact, only last

week I was presented with yet another case of a person with CFS being

informed that his private health insurance payments would now cease as

the company have decided to regard CFS as a mental health problem (and

hence part of their contractual exclusion clause relating to mental

disorders).

 

I am therefore submitting a formal complaint about the NHSIA inaccurate

classification in the hope that some urgent action will now be taken.

 

If you look at the table (ICD10 Primary Care Version Diagnoses and

Codes) in Section 27.1 of the MHMDS you will see that CFS has been

listed under the the psychiatric code F48 (along with the largely

abandoned diagnosis of neurasthenia) whereas it should actually be

indexed to the neurological chapter of ICD10 and listed under G93.3.

 

I am also raising this matter once again as it has been the subject of

recent correspondence between the Countess of Mar and Lord Warner,

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health.  The

response from Lord Warner to the Countess of Mar dated 11 February makes

it quite clear that both the WHO Collaborating Centre here in the UK and

the Department of Health believe there is only one code for CFS: under

neurological disorders in G93.3 and not under psychiatric disorders in

F48.

 

Furthermore, in a statement also issued on 11 February, the WHO

Collaborating Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College

Hospital have unambiguously confirmed that CFS should be listed under

G93.3 and that this clarification regarding classification will be

included in the next UK Edition of the the WHO Primary Care Treatment

Guide.

 

And as the Department of Health now acknowledge that CFS should be

officially classified as a neurological rather than mental health

disorder, it should now be removed from the MHMDS altogether.

 

I can supply a copy of the letter from Lord Warner and the statement

from the WHO Collaborating Centre if you have not yet seen them.

 

I await your response with interest.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Dr Charles Shepherd

Medical Adviser

 

ME Association

4 Top Angel

Buckingham Industrial Park

Buckingham

MK18 1TH

 

copy:  Countess of Mar, House of Lords

           

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