UK: George Eliot Hospital NHS CFS clinic

Sly Saint · Apr 14, 2023

Who We Are

The CFS clinic consists of a multi-disciplinary team of consultants (led by Professor Vinod Patel) and includes registrars, junior doctors, physician associate and occupational therapist.

Aims/Focus

The service at GEH is focused on the following aims:

Offer a specific diagnosis of CFS and exclude other conditions that can mimic these

Management of treatable conditions which can exacerbate CFS

Offer support and advice on the patient’s concerns, including treatment of some
symptom
Promote and empower individuals to self-manage the condition
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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Therapy
The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Therapy service offers assistance in managing patterns and levels of activity and rest to maximise function, with the aim of reducing an increase in symptoms and flare ups.

When patients are referred to the service they will be offered an appointment to have a full holistic assessment. Once a full assessment has been completed with the therapist they will receive a treatment pathway which is bespoke to that person.

Treatment pathway can include the following:

Pacing and grading of activities – including education about the “boom and bust” cycle of activity.

Sleep management – including sleep hygiene and the use of sleep dairies.

Work and Educational advice. This may include advice giving to employers and educational establishments.

Memory and concentration advice.

Rest and relaxation.

Stress management advice.

Relapse and setbacks advice.

The aim is to provide patients with the knowledge of how to create the best conditions for recovery to occur, and for patients to become an expert in managing their own condition.

This service is led by two senior Occupational Therapists, Tracy Atkins and Gail Loveridge-Wickins.
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https://www.geh.nhs.uk/directory-of-services/specialties-and-services/c/chronic-fatigue-syndrome/

Peter Trewhitt · Apr 14, 2023

Not very with it today, but it is worry that they still call themselves a CFS clinic when the new NICE ME/CFS guidelines have been formally published for some eighteen months (29 October 2021) and were available in draft form well before then.

Peter Trewhitt · Apr 14, 2023

The CFS Clinic and Service pages read better than the CFS title might lead you to expect.

The Hospital webpage says this of Professor Vinod Patel

Professor Vinod Patel is a Professor in Clinical Skills at Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick. He is also Honorary Consultant Physician in Endocrinology and Diabetes, Acute Medicine and Medical Obstetrics at the George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

He trained in Endocrinology and Diabetes at the Hammersmith and the Royal London hospitals. He obtained a Doctorate on Haemodynamic Factors in the Pathogenesis of Diabetic Retinopathy from the University of London and has multiple papers arising from the work. Whilst his specialist area of research is prevention of diabetic complications, he has a passion for clinical diabetes care. He is jointly qualified in Hospital Medicine and General Practice and has this has allowed him to work relatively seamlessly across the primary care/secondary care interface and improve effectiveness in delivery of diabetes care for the local Community. His commitment to Clinical Education is to help create world-class healthcare professionals that will be capable of dealing with the clinical, managerial and professional challenges of the future.

His Diabetes Care Team was instrumental in developing the “Alphabet Strategy” for patient-centred, evidence-based, multi-professional diabetes care. This preventative and treatment-orientated strategy has been taught in numerous courses and seminars across UK with multiple international presentations at conferences. The most recent venture is the delivery of two workshops in Bahrain sponsored by the UN Development Programme.

His work is driven by the deep held belief that a patient-centred, outcome-based, team-working approach can lead to a reduction in all premature complications of diabetes and indeed complications of all long-term conditions by at least 50%, thereby significantly improving the quality of life of people in UK.

Updated Jun 2018 see https://www.geh.nhs.uk/directory-of-services/consultants/p/patel-prof-vinod/
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And Warwick University says this of him

Research Interests
Whilst his specialist area of research is retinal blood flow in diabetic retinopathy he has a passion for diabetes clinical care.

Biography
Dr. Vinod Patel is Consultant Physician in Endocrinology and Diabetes at George Eliot hospital, NHS Trust in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. He is also Honorary Senior Lecturer in Medicine at the University of Warwick, now part of the Leicester Warwick Medical School. His main interests are in prevention of diabetes complications. He trained in Endocrinology and Diabetes at Hammersmith hospital and the Royal London hospitals. He obtained a MD Doctorate in Haemodynamic Factors in the Pathogenesis of Diabetic Retinopathy from the University of London and has multiple papers arising from the work.

See https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/staff/patel/ also lists his publications and research interests, but I did not notice anything ME/CFS specific
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Sean · Apr 15, 2023

Treatment pathway can include the following:

Pacing and grading of activities – including education about the “boom and bust” cycle of activity.

Sleep management – including sleep hygiene and the use of sleep dairies.

Work and Educational advice. This may include advice giving to employers and educational establishments.

Memory and concentration advice.

Rest and relaxation.

Stress management advice.

Relapse and setbacks advice.
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And these are based on what evidence (specific to ME)? Especially that hoary old chestnut, the "boom and bust" cycle?

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UK: George Eliot Hospital NHS CFS clinic

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