Former British sprinter Beth Dobbin has called on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to fund more research into the "life-decimating" condition that has left her spending 22 hours a day in bed. The 32-year-old, who raced at the Tokyo Olympics five years ago, revealed on Friday in an interview with BBC Sport that she had been diagnosed with ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis).
ME is a chronic, fluctuating disease with no known cure or specific treatment. Symptoms include sleep problems, memory and thinking difficulties, pain and severe, persistent fatigue that does not improve with rest. More than 400,000 people in the UK are thought to have ME, although the true figure could exceed one million. Severity ranges from people able to work or study to those requiring round-the-clock care and tube feeding.
In a letter to Burnham, Dobbin wrote: "ME has been neglected and psychologicalised for years." She said the condition has received little government research funding compared with other illnesses, leaving no approved treatments. She also noted that there are no NHS provisions for severe ME patients, who make up 25% of those with the condition. Patients often rely on off-label medication, and a light, sound or conversation can trigger a "crash" lasting days or even months.
Dobbin, who has left her house on just five occasions this year, agreed to the interview to raise awareness despite the risk it could worsen her health. She argued that funding ME research could help reduce the welfare bill, which Burnham has pledged to cut. Benefit spending is forecast to rise to £408.6bn in 2030-31. Between April 2019 and March 2024, the government invested around £6.5 million in ME research, and earlier this year it committed £4.75 million to a genomics study. BBC Sport has contacted Downing Street for comment.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing