Latest news with #ChronicFatigueSyndrome
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Health
- Irish Times
ME/CFS: is there a comprehensive explanation for this long-misunderstood illness?
In 1955, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) affected more than 300 people at London's Royal Free hospital. In 1970, a study attributed the outbreak to 'mass hysteria', from which the 'it's in your head' dogma of ME developed. However, in 2006, Dr Byron Hyde revealed the 1970 study as 'totally bogus research'. And, in 2015, Prof Betsy Keller of the Department of Exercise & Sports Sciences at New York's Ithaca College observed that , given all that had been learned about this condition, 'it is intellectually embarrassing to suggest that ME is a psychological illness'. By 2021, others had reduced ME's psychological dogma to ashes, citing research showing autoimmunity, a low circulating blood volume and the abnormal function of biopsied muscle fibres. Now, in his book, Understanding ME/CFS & Strategies for Healing (2025), Irish author Patrick Ussher not only adds compelling insights to the burgeoning evidence base for ME's physical origins, but also outlines a unifying model for ME, highlighting research towards possible effective treatment. READ MORE The 36-year-old told The Irish Times that, before his ME diagnosis in 2018, 'I was a PhD student working on Stoic ethics and a composer of contemporary classical music'. [ My battle with Long Covid: I was in disbelief. Was I making it up? How could I not stand up while the kettle boiled? Opens in new window ] How did he address this daunting health challenge? 'Initially,' he says, 'I was almost totally in the dark about ME. Plenty of research exists, but very little is taught to doctors, which left me navigating the ME landscape alone. But I undertook to read and understand the latest research.' Ussher's philosophical background may have enriched his understanding of ME-related science, echoing philosopher Mary Midgley who, in her 1992 book, Science and Salvation, noted that increasing scientific specialisation means that mental maps 'are required to show fine detail correctly, less and less are they designed to show the whole territory needed for actual journeys'. But Ussher's diligence was rewarded when the evolving mental map of his life-changing illness afforded him a glimpse of 'the whole territory' in August 2021: 'That's when I encountered the research of German professors, pharmacologist Klaus Wirth and immunologist/ME researcher Carmen Scheibenbogen. They've mapped out a ' unifying model' of ME , ( A Unifying Hypothesis of the Pathophysiology of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) which makes sense of the interrelationship of the most important pre-existing findings, joining up the dots and demystifying the condition." [ Chronic fatigue syndrome: 'It was like a switch had been flipped. I couldn't stand up' Opens in new window ] He adds: 'For ME to make sense as an illness, it cannot be random: it must follow certain physiological laws.' These physiological laws inform the evolution of Wirth and Scheibenbogen's unifying model hypothesis, which inter alia considers a key role for autoantibodies against blood flow-related cellular receptors in skeletal muscle and the brain; the mechanisms by which ME patients develop low blood volume and systemic blood hypoperfusion (a reduced amount of blood flow); and the contribution of high muscle sodium and calcium concentrations to mitochondrial dysfunction and muscle-tissue necrosis. The refinement of Wirth and Scheibenbogen's unifying model hypothesis has led to a therapeutic concept: a drug called Mitodicure, which is 'a novel molecule to treat patients with exertional intolerance and post-exertional malaise (PEM)'. Steps are under way to attract funding for clinical trials. Mitodicure, says Ussher, 'could represent the long-awaited breakthrough treatment for ME and Long Covid. Its mechanism of action will interrupt several key vicious cycles at once, particularly targeting the mechanisms underlying PEM. 'During symptom exacerbations of PEM,' he explains, 'most illness mechanisms heighten and intensify. By preventing PEM, Mitodicure could relieve physiological burdens, enabling the body to concentrate its resources on healing. 'Mitodicure is not symptom suppression,' Ussher emphasises, 'Prof Wirth considers Mitodicure to represent a potential cure for these illnesses.' Cautiously optimistic, Ussher suggests that Mitodicure could demystify ME: 'If you have a therapeutic based on a certain disease model and it works as hypothesised, the disease model is also validated. The pill can prove the principle. So Mitodicure could offer not only improved quality of life (or better) but could also advance our understanding of ME.' Although Ussher's enthusiasm is tempered with an acute awareness of the need for scientific rigour, his approach to science appears sceptical towards the exalted status of stored facts and may align with Mary Midgley's view that stored facts are 'valueless unless you know how to use them, how to connect them with other things, how to understand them'. Ussher's book represents an interpretative scheme; a vehicle, as he puts it, 'for raising awareness of Wirth and Scheibenbogen's 'unifying model' of ME and the potential Mitodicure pill which is based on it'. [ My daily routine living with . . . chronic fatigue syndrome Opens in new window ] He wants patients and other interested parties to know that there is a comprehensive explanation for this long-misunderstood illness and that 'we urgently need investors to fund Mitodicure. The stakes are too high for trials not to happen. 'Millions worldwide need help now, especially as ME is one of the severest outcomes of Long Covid , and the recent pandemic has resulted in countless more suffering from this disease.' Some might ascribe Ussher's determination to make progress against the ravages of ME to the Stoic philosophy that he espouses. However, 'The most important influence has been my late mum, Mary Redmond . Her journey with cancer, encapsulated in her book, The Pink Ribbon Path, has given me a path to follow now, albeit imperfectly. 'Equally important to me was her work in founding The Irish Hospice Foundation. She fought for the marginalised in her life. I am trying to do the same.'
North Wales Live
24-05-2025
- Politics
- North Wales Live
Protesters take to the streets of Swansea and Cardiff
Protesters took to the streets of Cardiff and Swansea to express their anger at cuts to benefits. The campaigners say changes to the Personal Independence Payment system and the health part of Univeral Credit will leave them unable to work and closer to poverty. The campaigners, who say the Labour government in Westminster isn't listening, wore Rachel Reeves masks, carried placards and flags and spoke to the assembled groups. Their slogans included 'Welfare not Warfare', 'Stop Disability Benefit Cuts' and 'Pip Cuts Kill'. Phil Coleman, 58, from Pontardawe, had a successful career as a maintenance technician at the National Waterfront Museum, in Swansea. However, now he suffers from long-Covid and cannot work. He now depends on benefits and his savings as his only source of income. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here Phil said: 'I've got long Covid, and I got long Covid three years ago. Before that, I was a very fit, healthy person, and I've paid tax and national insurance for 40 years. 'So I feel I've already paid into the system. So I think it's absolutely atrocious now that the benefits of some of the most vulnerable people in society are being cut.' He added that any reduction in the benefits he is receiving would mean poverty for him. Phil explained: 'I'm on a benefit, I'm on employment support allowance, which is not a lot of money. It's great and I'm lucky that I've got savings because I've worked for 40 years and I am actually using my savings because the benefit is not enough to live on. It's as simple as that. It [reduction in benefits] will plunge me into poverty, basically.' He said: 'I'm 10 years off retiring. I've been denied early retirement on grounds of ill health because at the moment I've been told, 'Well, you've got long Covid, you could get better.' "I also have a heart problem that was caused by long Covid. So I can't retire early. If likely I lose my benefit… that's my only income at the moment.' Ben Golightly, 34 suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and currently receives PIP for his condition. However, he is worried he might not be able to keep up his 'independence and dignity', if these payments are taken away from him under the proposed changes. He said: 'It makes a huge difference. Without it, I'd be unable to keep the house in shape because I wouldn't have any help. Most days I don't have the energy to cook so it's just bread and butter, but I get like, a delivery of food once a week. 'If I need to go somewhere, if I can't manage the walk to the bus stop that day, I take a taxi. Just all those things that make it more expensive to be an ill or disabled person. PIP goes some way towards making sure I've got that independence and dignity basically.' Ben added that his PIP benefits allow him to keep on top of the work his condition prevents him from doing. He said: 'I have an illness called ME or CFS and that limits my energy, it fluctuates, but most days I'm just sitting down. So I have a lot of difficulty with energy, with concentrating, things like keeping the house tidy, going shopping, cooking food, they're all things that I struggle to do. 'One thing I use PIP for is just to get my kitchen and bathroom clean, I pay someone to come in and do that weekly because that's just something I can't keep on top of due to my condition.' Ben feels that the Labour UK government has 'absolutely ignored' its disabled subjects. He said: 'I think it's scandalous,a so-called Labour party doing this and they're saying they're consulting with disabled people, they're not, they've absolutely ignored us. 'There's one consultation for the whole of Wales with limited tickets and disabled people are asking where it is, so we can plan our journeys and where we're staying. We're not going to know until the day before. Half the questions on the consultation, they're not even up for discussion, like the most important half, so they've made their minds up about it, they're not listening to disabled people.' Olivia Golightly, whose partner is disabled, says the PIP benefit money goes a long way in helping her partner get through the month. She said: 'She needs a lot of help with different things. She has a job, she works but getting a bit of benefits helps paying for numerous trips to hospitals, doctor appointments, additional things that she needs. 'I have to drive her to work. I'm lucky enough to have a flexible job, so it's quite easy for me to take time out. If she has a medical emergency, I can just go to her office and help deal with it. Obviously, if we were in that situation again, I'd have to take time off or unpaid time off to be able to support her.' Treasury Minister Darren Jones came under fire for drawing up an analogy between the disability benefits and pocket money, for which he had later apologised. Olivia said: 'It's not pocket money. So it goes on things like parking, you do not get free parking in Wales, even with a blue badge. We have to drive, I mean if I come to town on my own I cycle and just park my bike anyway I can't do that with her, we can't take the bus. 'It goes obviously on petrol, many trips to the hospital, doctors, she had to buy her own wheelchair, we paid £10,000 for a private surgery because she was not going to get on NHS and she was gonna die. So lots of things like that, just additional things that she needs to support her health.' The removal of PIP would make it harder for herself and her partner, according to Olivia. She said: 'I think it's just going to make things harder, like I said, using our own money for things like petrol costs and so on, but it's lots of little things that go into it, things that I do that she can't do, things that people don't think about or notice. 'It could just be a little housework, but it's a lot of different things. And again people don't realise that. You don't know what it's like to be disabled or to have a partner who is disabled, how much worry, anxiety and stress goes into it.' Felicity Mcgeown, 33, who has mobility and health issues faces a similar problem with her PIP payment. She currently receives the personal and mobility element of PIP but is unsure if she would qualify under the proposed changes. She said: 'I don't know… in a couple of areas I score like two and three, you need four. I do score four, but a lot of it depends on who your assessor is on the day. So you might score certain points one time that you have an assessment, and the next time you might score something differently, and it literally does depend on who's doing it because it's a bit of a tick box exercise. 'Your health conditions may not have changed. They may not even have improved, they might have worsened and you'll still score less sometimes depending on who's doing the assessment. So it is very variable.' Felicity too, says she would not be able to work without receiving her PIP payments. She said: 'My payment helps cover things like the cost of my car to get to my medical appointments and to be able to get out on time. Public transport has been cut in a lot of areas, it's very difficult. 'It also allows me to be able to get out and to work. People think PIP is an out of work benefit,it isn't. Lots of people who are on PIP are in work. My PIP allows me to have equipment and resources available to allow me to be able to work, without my PIP I wouldn't be able to work... That would be pushing you onto a different benefit.' She believes that these cuts have been brought in because the government thinks disabled people are an 'easy target'. Felicity said: 'I think they think maybe we're an easy target, and that they can get away with it basically. But we're not going to let them get away of it, we're going to hold them to account on this. 'It's short-sighted because at the core anybody can become disabled, that's the key thing, anyone can become disabled at any point in their life. The people making these decisions may not think it impacts them now but it could.' She adds the being disabled can cost up to £1000 additionally each month — costs that PIP helps mitigate. Felicity said: 'PIP isn't a work benefit. PIP is there to help cover the additional cost of being disabled. I don't know if you've tried to buy disability equipment, the price is shocking. 'Once you say it's for a disabled person, the price goes up. Sometimes you can get the VAT off with a doctor's letter, but the additional costs per month are absolutely shocking. That is why Scope found that it is on average over £1,000 extra per month.' She added: 'PIP allows me to basically live. To not necessarily need to be in the hospital and to also work. So without that, I don't know what the future would bring.' Rosanna Haigh, who is a disabled designer in Cardiff said: 'Rachel Reeves claims people use PIP 'improperly', yet there is no evidence for this. 'The government says cuts will 'incentivise' disabled people into work — but we don't lack motivation. We lack the privilege of good health, proper medical care, and equal access.' The 28-year-old said: 'PIP is awarded after rigorous assessment. No 'incentive' can override the reality of severe illness or impairment .Cutting this support will worsen poverty, deteriorate health, and make sustainable employment even less possible. 'I have qualifications, a strong work ethic, and I miss working. But pushing myself before I was ready nearly killed me. PIP gave me space to heal. If the goal were truly to support us into work, programmes like Access to Work would be expanded, not slashed.'
Wales Online
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Wales Online
Protesters take to the streets of Swansea and Cardiff
Protesters take to the streets of Swansea and Cardiff Large groups demonstrated their anger at Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer Campaigners gather to demand the Labour government scrap plans for cuts to disability benefits (Image: Mark Lewis ) Protesters took to the streets of Cardiff and Swansea to express their anger at cuts to benefits. The campaigners say changes to the Personal Independence Payment system and the health part of Univeral Credit will leave them unable to work and closer to poverty. The campaigners, who say the Labour government in Westminster isn't listening, wore Rachel Reeves masks, carried placards and flags and spoke to the assembled groups. Their slogans included 'Welfare not Warfare', 'Stop Disability Benefit Cuts' and 'Pip Cuts Kill'. Phil Coleman, 58, from Pontardawe, had a successful career as a maintenance technician at the National Waterfront Museum, in Swansea. However, now he suffers from long-Covid and cannot work. He now depends on benefits and his savings as his only source of income. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here Phil said: 'I've got long Covid, and I got long Covid three years ago. Before that, I was a very fit, healthy person, and I've paid tax and national insurance for 40 years. 'So I feel I've already paid into the system. So I think it's absolutely atrocious now that the benefits of some of the most vulnerable people in society are being cut.' Article continues below Phil Coleman used to have a successful career as a maintainance technician (Image: Shaurya Shaurya ) He added that any reduction in the benefits he is receiving would mean poverty for him. Phil explained: 'I'm on a benefit, I'm on employment support allowance, which is not a lot of money. It's great and I'm lucky that I've got savings because I've worked for 40 years and I am actually using my savings because the benefit is not enough to live on. It's as simple as that. It [reduction in benefits] will plunge me into poverty, basically.' The protest in Cardiff (Image: Mark Lewis ) He said: 'I'm 10 years off retiring. I've been denied early retirement on grounds of ill health because at the moment I've been told, 'Well, you've got long Covid, you could get better.' "I also have a heart problem that was caused by long Covid. So I can't retire early. If likely I lose my benefit… that's my only income at the moment.' (Image: Mark Lewis ) Ben Golightly, 34 suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and currently receives PIP for his condition. However, he is worried he might not be able to keep up his 'independence and dignity', if these payments are taken away from him under the proposed changes. He said: 'It makes a huge difference. Without it, I'd be unable to keep the house in shape because I wouldn't have any help. Most days I don't have the energy to cook so it's just bread and butter, but I get like, a delivery of food once a week. 'If I need to go somewhere, if I can't manage the walk to the bus stop that day, I take a taxi. Just all those things that make it more expensive to be an ill or disabled person. PIP goes some way towards making sure I've got that independence and dignity basically.' Ben Golighty, feels the government has not thought of people like him while coming up with the cuts (Image: Shaurya Shaurya ) Ben added that his PIP benefits allow him to keep on top of the work his condition prevents him from doing. He said: 'I have an illness called ME or CFS and that limits my energy, it fluctuates, but most days I'm just sitting down. So I have a lot of difficulty with energy, with concentrating, things like keeping the house tidy, going shopping, cooking food, they're all things that I struggle to do. 'One thing I use PIP for is just to get my kitchen and bathroom clean, I pay someone to come in and do that weekly because that's just something I can't keep on top of due to my condition.' A protester in Cardiff (Image: Mark Lewis ) Ben feels that the Labour UK government has 'absolutely ignored' its disabled subjects. He said: 'I think it's scandalous,a so-called Labour party doing this and they're saying they're consulting with disabled people, they're not, they've absolutely ignored us. 'There's one consultation for the whole of Wales with limited tickets and disabled people are asking where it is, so we can plan our journeys and where we're staying. We're not going to know until the day before. Half the questions on the consultation, they're not even up for discussion, like the most important half, so they've made their minds up about it, they're not listening to disabled people.' Olivia Golightly, who cares for her partner who is disabled (Image: Shaurya Shaurya ) Olivia Golightly, whose partner is disabled, says the PIP benefit money goes a long way in helping her partner get through the month. She said: 'She needs a lot of help with different things. She has a job, she works but getting a bit of benefits helps paying for numerous trips to hospitals, doctor appointments, additional things that she needs. 'I have to drive her to work. I'm lucky enough to have a flexible job, so it's quite easy for me to take time out. If she has a medical emergency, I can just go to her office and help deal with it. Obviously, if we were in that situation again, I'd have to take time off or unpaid time off to be able to support her.' Treasury Minister Darren Jones came under fire for drawing up an analogy between the disability benefits and pocket money, for which he had later apologised. Olivia said: 'It's not pocket money. So it goes on things like parking, you do not get free parking in Wales, even with a blue badge. We have to drive, I mean if I come to town on my own I cycle and just park my bike anyway I can't do that with her, we can't take the bus. 'It goes obviously on petrol, many trips to the hospital, doctors, she had to buy her own wheelchair, we paid £10,000 for a private surgery because she was not going to get on NHS and she was gonna die. So lots of things like that, just additional things that she needs to support her health.' The removal of PIP would make it harder for herself and her partner, according to Olivia. She said: 'I think it's just going to make things harder, like I said, using our own money for things like petrol costs and so on, but it's lots of little things that go into it, things that I do that she can't do, things that people don't think about or notice. 'It could just be a little housework, but it's a lot of different things. And again people don't realise that. You don't know what it's like to be disabled or to have a partner who is disabled, how much worry, anxiety and stress goes into it.' Felicity Mcgeown depends on her PIP money to be able to work (Image: Shaurya Shaurya ) Felicity Mcgeown, 33, who has mobility and health issues faces a similar problem with her PIP payment. She currently receives the personal and mobility element of PIP but is unsure if she would qualify under the proposed changes. She said: 'I don't know… in a couple of areas I score like two and three, you need four. I do score four, but a lot of it depends on who your assessor is on the day. So you might score certain points one time that you have an assessment, and the next time you might score something differently, and it literally does depend on who's doing it because it's a bit of a tick box exercise. 'Your health conditions may not have changed. They may not even have improved, they might have worsened and you'll still score less sometimes depending on who's doing the assessment. So it is very variable.' Felicity too, says she would not be able to work without receiving her PIP payments. She said: 'My payment helps cover things like the cost of my car to get to my medical appointments and to be able to get out on time. Public transport has been cut in a lot of areas, it's very difficult. 'It also allows me to be able to get out and to work. People think PIP is an out of work benefit,it isn't. Lots of people who are on PIP are in work. My PIP allows me to have equipment and resources available to allow me to be able to work, without my PIP I wouldn't be able to work... That would be pushing you onto a different benefit.' She believes that these cuts have been brought in because the government thinks disabled people are an 'easy target'. Felicity said: 'I think they think maybe we're an easy target, and that they can get away with it basically. But we're not going to let them get away of it, we're going to hold them to account on this. 'It's short-sighted because at the core anybody can become disabled, that's the key thing, anyone can become disabled at any point in their life. The people making these decisions may not think it impacts them now but it could.' She adds the being disabled can cost up to £1000 additionally each month — costs that PIP helps mitigate. People were visibly angry at their local MPs in Swansea (Image: Shaurya Shaurya ) Felicity said: 'PIP isn't a work benefit. PIP is there to help cover the additional cost of being disabled. I don't know if you've tried to buy disability equipment, the price is shocking. 'Once you say it's for a disabled person, the price goes up. Sometimes you can get the VAT off with a doctor's letter, but the additional costs per month are absolutely shocking. That is why Scope found that it is on average over £1,000 extra per month.' She added: 'PIP allows me to basically live. To not necessarily need to be in the hospital and to also work. So without that, I don't know what the future would bring.' Rosanna Haigh, who is a disabled designer in Cardiff said: 'Rachel Reeves claims people use PIP 'improperly', yet there is no evidence for this. 'The government says cuts will 'incentivise' disabled people into work — but we don't lack motivation. We lack the privilege of good health, proper medical care, and equal access.' Article continues below The 28-year-old said: 'PIP is awarded after rigorous assessment. No 'incentive' can override the reality of severe illness or impairment .Cutting this support will worsen poverty, deteriorate health, and make sustainable employment even less possible. 'I have qualifications, a strong work ethic, and I miss working. But pushing myself before I was ready nearly killed me. PIP gave me space to heal. If the goal were truly to support us into work, programmes like Access to Work would be expanded, not slashed.'
Hindustan Times
19-05-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Not fighting or betrayal causes divorce: Relationship expert reveals the biggest reason why marriages fail
When a marriage is headed towards a point of no return, with divorce as the only way out, many people assume it's because of explosive fights or a lack of intimacy. While these are certainly relevant, they are just surface-level issues. The main root cause is subtler than you think. The crack in a relationship may not always come from an explosive reason, but from things shoved under the carpet. They keep taking up space until the marriage feels too claustrophobic. ALSO READ ON HEALTHSHOTS: Living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Is it good to exercise? Relationship coach Jon Dabach, who regularly shares tips on relationship and marriage-related issues on Instagram, revealed one issue that he believes is the biggest indicator of a marriage that may be heading for divorce. The relationship coach explained, 'After 13 years as a couples' counsellor, it's not constant fighting, it's not a lack of intimacy, and it's not even growing apart over time. Sure, all those things can hurt a marriage, but they are symptoms, not the root cause. It's uncommunicated expectations, the silent, unspoken needs that go unmet for just far too long. Marriages don't fall apart because of dramatic betrayals alone. They break because couples stop communicating what they expect from each other." Being on the same page is a non-negotiable in the relationship, and when couples ignore this rule, marriages suffer. Jon added, "One partner believes they should know what I need by now, and the other assumes everything is fine. Emotional distance keeps growing until two people start living parallel lives under the same roof. A major, major warning sign is when conversations become purely transactional and couples stop sharing their hopes, frustrations, and dreams.' If uncommunicated expectations are still at a nascent stage, the best step to save the marriage is through open conversations before the silence turns into distance. Jon Dabach discussed the solutions and added, 'You speak the hard truth out loud. I feel like we have stopped talking about what we really want from each other. You respond with curiosity instead of defensiveness and you ask your partner what do you need from me that I am not seeing. The solution to saving a marriage is not avoiding conflict. The real solution is staying committed to honest dialogue on purpose.' ALSO READ: Is bedtime cuddling the secret to happier relationships? Study reveals benefits that strengthen the bond Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice.
South Wales Guardian
14-05-2025
- Health
- South Wales Guardian
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 — #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.'
