Belle and Sebastian singer Stuart Murdoch joins ME rally at Holyrood
The group ME Action Scotland is concerned new funding for the condition will not be allocated.
Stuart Murdoch, the lead singer of Belle and Sebastian, has joined campaigners to call for urgent action on ME (Myalgic encephalomyelitis).
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.
Speaking at the rally, Murdoch said: “We are the strong. ME people are hell of a strong. We might be weak in body but we have insight. We’ve learned patience, we’ve got potential and we have some wisdom.
“These are powerful things. These are strong things. We see things that other people can’t see or won’t see.
“I’d just like to say to ME people to finish – you are playing your part.”
He added: “Your life is very precious. We just need the rest of the world to see it.”
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.”
