In the middle of last week, Tom Kindlon highlighted on Twitter a new leaflet from Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust about managing fatigue post-Covid-19.
It would be a long blog post to go through the many reasons why this leaflet is incorrect, dangerous and frustrating, but the short story is it is exactly the opposite of the advice we are currently working on, which we will be soon sharing with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy to help guide treating professionals in managing post-Covid-19 patients appropriately.
We flagged the leaflet to the other members of Forward ME, the combined group of all ME charities and advocates in the UK, as well as the team at the Workwell Foundation. It was met with similar shock and concern, so we set to writing an opposition using all the knowledge and experience of the group, and we have sent it today (Monday 20 April) to the Chief Executive of Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, requesting immediate withdrawal of the publication and offering more appropriate advice. We also copied in Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty, just to keep him in the loop.
This letter is counter-signed by over 20 health professionals, organisations and MPs, and explains in evidence-based detail exactly why the advice in the letter is potentially harmful.
We hope that it is taken as seriously as it is intended and we will update as soon as there are any developments.
In the meantime if you encounter any similar material please do flag it with us – we will endeavour to respond.
The letter can be read here.