AN £8.5-MILLION national grant is bringing hope to local sufferers of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), with a major cash injection for the South-West.
Professor Anthony Pinching, professor of clinical immunology at the Peninsula Medical school and clinical lead for CFS/ME at the Department of Health, will chair the collaborative.
He said: 'I am really delighted to start developing multi-disciplinary services across the peninsula for patients with this very disabling and unpleasant condition.
'We are keen to see access provided to patients as close to their homes as possible.
'I also want to enable all practitioners whom they will meet in the NHS to be aware of their needs and of the services available.'
The collaborative will incorporate local medical teams specific to the South and West Devon and Cornish regions, who will provide specialist assessment and diagnosis, multi-disciplinary clinical management and advice to patients, carers and patient clinicians.
The teams will be comprised of doctors, occupational therapists and clinical psychologists, all of whom have particular knowledge of CFS.
Services will be provided as near to individual patients' homes as possible with specialised domiciliary support and rehabilitation for housebound sufferers.
Chronic fatigue syndrome is a relatively common condition affecting approximately one in every five hundred people across the South West.
It causes pervasive illness and disability which varies in severity and duration, but in many cases interferes substantially with everyday routine.
In severe cases, CFS sufferers may become housebound and even bed-ridden.
The planned clinical network centre aims to improve opportunities for research into the epidemiology, manifestations and treatment of CFS as well as developing comprehensive training schemes for medical staff.
Local ME support groups are also getting involved in order to maximise community liaison, open information channels and support self-management programmes.