The “scandal” of the PACE trial for CFS/ME, BLB Solicitors

[Indigophoton]

A short piece by a firm of personal injury solicitors presumably seeing the possibility of legal action where patients have been harmed:

In 2011, following a randomised trial part-funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), researchers claimed that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Graded Exercise Therapy (GET) “can safely be added to [specialist medical care] to moderately improve outcomes for chronic fatigue syndrome”.

The results of the re-analysis have been published in the journal BMC Psychology. The new researchers say that “reanalyses of the trial data based on the published protocol generated some troubling findings”, saying that the measure of the success of the treatment was changed after the trial had begun, ie, the goalposts were moved.

The lead author, Dr Carolyn Wilshire, from the University of Wellington in New Zealand, said “until there is positive evidence to suggest otherwise, the conclusion we must draw is that PACE’s treatment effects are not sustained over the long term, not even on self-report measures.

“CBT and GET have no long-term benefits at all. Patients do just as well with good basic medical care.”

In response

In response, the authors of the original study have said that they stand firmly by their findings, suggesting that the new research was based upon only part of the data from the original trial. They also point to other research which they say supports their findings.

Despite that, in a recent parliamentary debate on PACE, one MP described the trial as “one of the greatest medical scandals of the 21st century”, which was “deliberately flawed to “remove people from long-term benefits and reduce the welfare bill.”

We are the leading solicitors in England and Wales for accident victims suffering Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), Fibromyalgia, Neuropathic Pain, Myofascial Pain and other chronic pain conditions. Not all personal injuries result in life changing chronic pain, but if you or a member of your family have the misfortune to be in this position, you need a specialist solicitor.
BLB are different to other personal injury solicitors. We are a small team of senior, highly specialist solicitors and to maintain our exceptional standards, we strictly limit the number of clients we represent. By concentrating on the cases where we can make the most difference, we can maintain our focus on the short and long term financial security, treatment and rehabilitation needs of our clients.

https://www.blbchronicpain.co.uk/news/scandal-pace-trial-cfs/

 

[Indigophoton]

One of the solicitors tweeted a link to their article to Michael Sharpe,

 

[Allele]

omg, is it christmas already?

also, i sincerely hope someone is archiving all those tweets.

 

[Estherbot]

Wonder if Michael Sharpe will threaten the solicitors with libel?

 

[ScottTriGuy]

Doing a little happy dance. (Okay, only in my head.)

 

[Esther12]

Generally, it's not the person whose behaviour is being judged that gets to decide whether they're a part of a scandal or not.

It's like Wessely's “OK folks, nothing to see here, move along please.”

Who do they think they're fooling?

 

[Estherbot]

*I understand that Sharpe (& Wessely) have set up Google alerts relating to their work, which is maybe why they are quick to respond on subjects like PACE and the colourful language they have used about patients in the past.

*PS Narcissistic personality disorder on Wikipedia

long-term pattern of abnormal behavior characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, and a lack of empathy

 

[Indigophoton]

Sharpe is re-iterating that there is no scandal, while the solicitors are being pointed to @dave30th's posts on Virology blog,

 

[Alvin]

A short piece by a firm of personal injury solicitors presumably seeing the possibility of legal action where patients have been harmed

Now we are talking real consequences

 

[Sbag]

They also have another article on their site called "Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and others are essentially one and the same condition" which has the following section :

"Psychological history

Psychological issues are accepted as an important factor in these conditions and there is a clear overlap with psychiatric ‘somatisation disorders’. In particular there is an association with depression, anxiety and adverse early life events.

Whilst there is a wide spectrum, doctors believe that in a ‘typical’ case there will be a history of early life stressors (bereavement, bullying, mental, physical or sexual abuse); onset of depression or anxiety during adolescence (when it appears that the brain is becoming hard-wired) and during adolescence and early adult life, the sufferer repeatedly reports unexplained medical symptoms that become intrusive."

They don't seem quite as understanding in this one.

 

[Sean]

Now we are talking real consequences

Sad that this might be what it takes though, isn't it.

 

[alktipping]

not getting anywhere small claims solicitors fishing for clients to rip of does not equate to a realistic chance of the pace trial fraudsters ever seeing the inside of a courtroom as defendants .considering the extensive support in their narrative from the british establishment who for all we know had their fingers very deep in this particular pie. considering they used these results to justify their attacks on the chronically sick not just people suffering from m e .

 

[Samuel]

to me, individual lawsuits are not appropriately real consequences.

prison terms would be one example of real consequences. alongside real consequences, massive retractions and genuinely truth-seeking official and unofficial investigations are needed. [not to mention science, services, and many more things.]

 

[alktipping]

have you seen how long it takes in England just to get a full inquiry started. by the time government accepted the need for such an inquiry many of those responsible would be dead or able to claim no memory of such events due to old age . private legal action is only slightly quicker when the culprits have access to the best lawyers undoubtedly paid for by the taxpayer. our legal system is very perverse when it comes to financial aid.

 

[petrichor]

*I understand that Sharpe (& Wessely) have set up Google alerts relating to their work, which is maybe why they are quick to respond on subjects like PACE and the colourful language they have used about patients in the past.

*PS Narcissistic personality disorder on Wikipedia

I don't think it's productive to unnecessarily diagnose people with personality disorders. You know this forum is public?

 

[Samuel]

on a forum for cdc employees, we were once castigated by a bigot for setting up google alerts. i'm more inclined to say that google alerts [and competitors] are useful tools for activism [not merely for persecution] and they are not an indicator of deviance.

 

[Sly Saint]

 

[Invisible Woman]

Proof it's the BPS mob driving researchers out of the field (or this country at least) and not patients.

 

[Sly Saint]

 

[AR68]

Sad that this might be what it takes though, isn't it.

I've, increasingly, been of the opinion that a legal route has, in some way, to be sought here.

I watch the reactions of the BPS crowd and I sense, at the minimum, a touch of backtracking on the part of some of them.