Belle and Sebastian singer Stuart Murdoch joins ME rally at Holyrood
The singer and other people with the condition, which is also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, held a rally outside the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday.
The group ME Action Scotland is concerned new funding for the condition will not be allocated.
Murdoch has previously spoken about how living with ME left him feeling 'invisible' and like a 'non-person'.
While there is not a straightforward diagnosis for ME, symptoms can include feeling tired all the time and difficulty sleeping.
On 14th May, 2025, #MEAction Scotland volunteers will be calling on the government to translate its promises into urgent, meaningful action.
To find out more about how you can make your voice heard, read our website article https://t.co/XuZqRDuPpH pic.twitter.com/3Nhuv9PFeZ
— #MEAction Scotland (@meactionscot) May 2, 2025
Janet Sylvester, trustee at ME Action Scotland, said: 'We're raising a red alert and calling on the Government to get plans in place so that funding can start going out to health boards and begin to make changes to the dire situation in Scotland.
'We welcomed the budget commitment but it won't mean anything if the money isn't actually spent. Now that the budget year has started, the clock is ticking.
'Our major concern is that it will take so long to allocate the funding that the health boards will not have time to spend it in this financial year, as has happened with past long Covid funding.'
The most recent Scottish Government Budget set aside £4.5 million for ME, long Covid and similar conditions.
Public health minister Jenni Minto said: 'Supporting people with ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, long Covid and similar energy-limiting conditions is an absolute priority.
'We want this money to have maximum impact and we are working closely with health boards across Scotland to allocate it as quickly and effectively as possible.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Kate Garraway admits she 'no longer felt safe' while caring for Derek
Kate Garraway has revealed the heartbreaking moment she felt it was unsafe for her and her family as they cared for Derek Draper following his health complications after contracting Covid Kate Garraway has candidly opened up on the struggles she faced while caring for late husband Derek Draper, saying it got to the point she no longer felt safe. Derek, a political lobbyist, died aged 56 in 2022 following a cardiac arrest after years of health implications from long Covid. Derek's health rapidly deteriorated after he contracted coronavirus in March 2020. He died four years later in January 2024. Throughout his struggles, Good Morning Britain presenter Kate was by his side and was his primary carer. However, she has revealed how she got so tired at one stage that she felt the situation was no longer safe for her or her kids. Speaking to the Sun, Kate described a three-week gap in care for her husband while the system tried to work out which agency would be best suited to helping the family with the care he needed. She said during that time she "had no choice but to try to get through looking after Derek 24/7 completely alone". Kate confessed: "By the end I was so sleep-deprived I was scared it was no longer safe — for me, for the children, let alone for Derek. In desperation I called health services again and this time refused to get off the phone until some answer was given. "In the end, the person on the other end of the phone, who was also clearly exhausted, told me, 'There is nothing I can do but — and this isn't official — you are not alone and what I always say to people is take him to A&E and leave him there, then they legally have to do something." Kate was stunned that this was what the stage it had gotten to, questioning how the best solution appeared to be to "abandon" someone who wasn't safe to be left alone. She praised family members who helped with the awful situation, but realises others may not be so lucky. Kate also she admitted she still has a "tsunami of sadness" as she regularly wakes in the middle of night panicking she hasn't given her husband his medicine. She previously revealed the touching last moments she and her two kids shared with Derek. According to Kate in a discussion last year, proud dad Derek told his children, Darcey and Billy: "You're the best children anyone could ask for. Look after mum, be good for her." This was sadly last time Derek saw his two children before going into a coma. Kate openly praised her kids for how they handled their dad's condition and passing. Speaking on Good Morning Britain in February 2024, Kate said: "It was one of those stop-the-clock moments, where you want the world to stop. "It swamps you. We now have 24 hours, [which] turned out to be more of a month, of fighting on and fighting on, following the prognosis that he won't make it through. For the children when they heard he won't make it through, they've heard it so many times. "They were so beautiful, the children, about that. They individually had time with him on his own and Darcey said, 'If, dad, you can't do this, it's okay. Don't worry about us'. And I had similar conversations, a chance to hold his hand and smell his skin and hold him all the way through, and some people don't get that.
Daily Record
33 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Rutherglen MSP welcomes £6.6 million of funding to reduce waiting times in Lanarkshire
This investment is part of the Scottish Government's £200 million commitment in the Programme for Government to increase NHS capacity, reduce delayed discharge, and improve the flow of patients through hospitals. Rutherglen MSP Clare Haughey has welcomed the Scottish Government's announcement of £6.6 million of targeted funding to reduce waiting times in Lanarkshire, as part of £106 million new investment across NHS Scotland. This investment is part of the Scottish Government's £200 million commitment in the Programme for Government to increase NHS capacity, reduce delayed discharge, and improve the flow of patients through hospitals. Ms Haughey said: 'This is another clear example of our SNP Government delivering for our NHS, with real action to cut waiting times and get patients in South Lanarkshire the care they need faster. 'By focusing funding where it's needed most, like orthopaedics, cancer, and diagnostics, we're helping tackle the longest delays head-on. 'This will mean quicker, diagnoses, more procedures, and better outcomes for people in South Lanarkshire. 'South Lanarkshire communities deserve timely access to care, and this SNP Government is making the investment to deliver that. While we know some people have to wait too long for treatment, the SNP is getting on with the job of driving improvements for patients.' *Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
'Covid left me in a blacked out room, then I was put in a mental health unit'
Brandon says the initial Covid virus wasn't too bad - but the symptoms after were 'terrifying' A man was locked in a psychiatric ward and accused of being delusional after developing a terrifying condition he believes was triggered by Covid. Brandon Green's symptoms included extreme sensitivity to light, hives and a range of allergies; he was eventually forced to spend 20 months living in a blacked-out room. The 37-year-old contracted Covid in 2020 and says that he was not particularly ill - but the experience was strange. 'The virus itself wasn't too bad' Brandon says, 'but it was weird. I could feel something in my brain. For weeks afterwards, my tongue would go numb, my foot would drop for a whole week, I couldn't speak for hours. I'd blank out mid-conversation. It was like I couldn't access my brain.' The next sign that something was wrong was when he used a supermarket sunscreen on his face and had an unusual reaction. 'By the end of the day, I was burnt all over,' he says. 'And the following days and weeks, every time I would go out in the sun, I would feel intense burning.' As time passed, Brandon's symptoms worsened. He developed extreme sensitivity to sunlight that felt like being burned by a blowtorch, hives on his skin and a bizarre sensitivity to metal. 'I couldn't sleep on a mattress because the springs would burn me, so I just moved to the floor,' he explains. He also developed an allergy to mould that left him struggling to breathe and severe sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation, which got worse week by week. By April 2022 he was forced to spend his days in a blacked out room with the curtains taped shut to ensure no light crept in. He was only able to venture out at night and jokes he lived for late night shopping on Thursdays. Brandon was terrified but trips to the doctors left him feeling hopeless. 'Doctors didn't know what to do and kept saying I was making it up,' he said. 'I once had a doctor laugh at me because I said I got relief from acupuncture.' He was ill, exhausted and incredibly frustrated when events took a turn for the worse. Worried friends had contacted a psychiatrist who appeared at his door in 2023 to talk to him. Later that night he had a phone call from the doctor, explaining that he thought he was suffering delusions and that a mental health team was on the way to assess him who then took him to a psychiatric ward. 'As soon as I arrived at the facility, I went out to the basketball court for fresh air, and saw a young guy trying to choke himself with his jumper, wrapping it around his neck and pulling on each end of it,' Brandon said. 'I ran and told the nurse and security. By the time they arrived he'd stopped what he was doing, seen me dob on him and the nurse and security weren't impressed with me - explaining that he was fine. I later got a mouthful from the guy.' Staff wanted to medicate him, but Brandon refused. 'They told me I was delusional, that I had schizophrenia. They wanted to pump me full of benzodiazepines and antipsychotics. I was scared,' he said. Locked up with patients with severe mental illness, his condition worsened and he was plagued with asthma attacks. 'I kept thinking, this is a place for people with mental illness, but I'm here because they think I'm crazy when really I'm sick.' After two days, he was allowed home, exhausted and bewildered - and with no answers about what was really wrong with him. A few months later there was finally progress. Brandon's doctor told him he had Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), a condition where immune cells overreact and release excessive chemical mediators. He was prescribed Mast Cell Stabilising drugs. There have been multiple reports of people developed MCAS after having Covid and a number of specialists believe that the condition can be triggered by the virus. Over the next few weeks Brandon noticed gradual improvement and by December 2023 - after 20 months of living in the dark - he was finally able to tolerate more light. 'By Christmas Day I was fully out,' he says. 'A true Christmas miracle.' But despite significant improvements, he still struggles with debilitating symptoms that doctors are unable to explain. I want to get better. I want people to understand what I've been through,' he says. 'I've forgiven my friends and family; they were only trying to help. But I would hope the medical establishment would reflect on themselves and improve. We should be able to expect better from doctors and experts.'
