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Rejected petition: Require mandatory NHS training on ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia and related conditions

Rejected on

Require mandatory NHS training for GPs and relevant healthcare professionals on ME/CFS and related conditions, including Fibromyalgia, Long COVID, POTS and hEDS, to improve diagnosis, patient safety, evidence-based care and consistent treatment across the NHS.

Many people with ME/CFS and related conditions experience delayed diagnosis, dismissal, misdiagnosis and avoidable harm because many healthcare professionals receive little or no formal training. Mandatory, evidence based education would improve awareness, support earlier diagnosis, reduce unsafe or inappropriate care, promote compassionate treatment, and better protect patients while ensuring more consistent, informed care across the NHS.


Why was this petition rejected?

It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.

Neither the Government nor Parliament are directly responsible for the training of GPs and other healthcare professionals. This is the responsibility of various bodies, such as the General Medical Council (GMC) which is the regulator of all medical doctors, physician assistants (PAs) and physician assistants in anaesthesia (PAAs) practising in the UK.

The GMC introduced the Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA), which creates a framework for testing the core knowledge, skills, and behaviours of doctors who want to practise in the UK. The GMC does not deliver, design, or commission education and training. Each medical college sets its own undergraduate curriculum. The training curriculum for postgraduate trainee GPs is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners, and has to meet the standards set by the General Medical Council.

GPs are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge remains up to date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development.

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.