BELLE and Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch joined hundreds in George Square taking part in a mass ‘lie down’ to make a plea for more NHS specialists for a debilitating health condition.

More than 21,000 Scots are thought to be suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), supported by one specialist nurse and there are no dedicated NHS consultants.

Campaigners say if the nurse, who is employed by NHS Fife, was to divide his time among all the people who could benefit from it, he would be able to devote less than a second a week to each one.

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Patients say the amount of money being spent on research is also “paltry” compared with many other illnesses, with £4 per patient spent on ME research per year between 2006-2015 in the UK compared with £80 per patient for research into multiple sclerosis.

Yesterday’s event in George Square is part of a global week of action being organised by #MEAction from May 5th to 12th.

Glasgow Times:

Millions Missing will see the lining up of ‘empty’ shoes with messages from ME patients from across the UK.

Stuart Murdoch, who has suffered from ME for 28 years, said: “Why so little funding, for so many people, in so much pain?

“Just tell me the reason, and I’ll retract my question.

“Tell me why we aren’t as deserving as other citizens who have equally debilitating conditions? We just want to know.”

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Speakers at the Glasgow Millions Missing protest also included Carol Monaghan, MP for Glasgow South West.

She said: “During my first election campaign in 2015, I visited a constituent at home who had been living with ME for over 30 years.

“I knew very little about ME and I considered it to be a condition that simply made a person tired.

“ I suppose this is typical; unless an individual has personal experience of ME, it remains very much an unknown condition.

“As a result, at the moment there is a woeful lack of awareness and of quality medical research into ME.

“If things are to improve, it is important that the causes, diagnosis and treatment are fully investigated.”

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) is a chronic, debilitating, multi-system disease that affects 21,000 people in Scotland and approximately 250,000 men, women and children of all ethnicities, ages, and genders in the UK.

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