Until about 30 years ago, little was known about myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME for short) or fibromyalgia (FM) sufferers. It was popularly thought then that patients who claimed to be suffering from these disorders were either hypochondriacs or had some form of psychosomatic illness.
Medical science has advanced considerably since then.
ME, or chronic fatigue illness, as it is sometimes called, and FM are now recognised as definite medical conditions.
ME manifests itself as muscle pain and intense physical or mental exhaustion. People with FM experience pain in their tendons and ligaments, along with tender parts throughout their bodies, which ache when pressure is applied to them, coupled also with feelings of exhaustion.
Part of the problem is that there is in general no known cause, cure or universal treatment for ME or FM. Moreover, since there is no one identifiable cause or diagnosis for them, there is also no one treatment or ‘magic bullet’ to deal effectively with the multi-systemic nature of these two illnesses.
Although considerable progress has been made in the last decade or so in recognising the signs of ME and FM, they are among the least funded illnesses for research in such places as the United States or Canada, where one would normally expect substantive medical research investment.
It is against this background that the plight of ME and FM sufferers in Malta should be viewed.
About 60 people who suffer from ME and FM have formed a support group to draw attention to their problems and to obtain some kind of public acknowledgment from the government.
As the support group leaders, Rebecca Camilleri and Caroline Spiteri, put it, “It is high time the illnesses are fully acknowledged in terms of social support” in line with the World Health Organisation, which defined ME and FM as physical, neurological illnesses.
It was also pointed out that foreign specialists were needed to train Maltese healthcare professionals, who, it was implied, lacked knowledge or experience of the illnesses.
This lack of knowledge and the dearth of official recognition for ME and FM in this country were underlined at a support group’s meeting the other day.
While the Parliamentary Secretary for the Rights of Persons with Disability was present, the Minster for Health, under whose direct portfolio this rightly falls, was not. And neither was the Minister for Social Solidarity, who, presumably, would have to pilot any access to social support for ME and FM sufferers if and when the government decided that, on health grounds, their suffering deserved such support.
The first step to take would therefore be for ME and FM sufferers to obtain official recognition for their plight from the Ministry of Health.
Once that is achieved, the ministry will need to examine what, if any, expertise already exists in this field and what further training of medical officers either abroad or in Malta would be desirable. Any future access to social support would have to follow the medical prognosis and treatment facilities on offer.
The nub of the problem will be whether the government is prepared to agree that Malta’s universal healthcare system is also to be responsible for providing comprehensive services for ME and FM patients.
The issue will turn – as it always inevitably does – on the availability of resources. At a time of tight fiscal challenges, the Minister for Health must decide how and to what extent ME and FM sufferers - a small but hitherto neglected, vulnerable group in society - can be helped to live better lives.