UTV Life Broadcast

A Reply by Jo Calder to misleading statements by Ian McIlroy

In his long post, Ian McIlroy forgot to mention that he is a member of a rival ME charity, with an axe to grind, and something to gain from knocking NI MEA.

He is aggrieved that NI MEA receives DOH funding, and his organization does not. Funding is available to those who lobby for it. NI MEA lobbied at Government Buildings once in October and twice in November, including briefings to the CMO and the Assembly Health Committee. When was your organization last at Stormont, Ian?

Ian is angry and frustrated that NI MEA would not advertise on behalf of Dr. Derek Enlander. Dr. Enlander is a distinguished Ulsterman based at a famous New York Hospital. As a research lecturer, he is most welcome. However while he is in Belfast for a short period, Dr. Enlander proposes to see patients. Some questions arise: does he intend to actually treat patients; if so how will he supervise their continuing care from 3000 miles away; and will his own regime conflict with a patient’s current NHS treatment? With such uncertainties, there can be no immediate endorsement from NI MEA for any visiting doctor.

Ian is upset that we invited a psychiatrist to a doctors’ conference at Lagan Valley Island last year. Now let’s get real here. He’s the consultant in charge of the Belfast ME clinic. Do you think the doctors in the audience wouldn’t have missed him if he had been excluded? Fine start to a conference that would have been. Our speakers included Drs. Willie Weir and Jonathan Kerr, both from London, and both leading opponents of the psychiatric model of ME.
But whoops! - Ian forgot to mention those details also.

NIMEA committee members are all patients, all volunteers, and are all ill. Our work is always achieved at the cost of their own health.

When there is anything to be done, there is always a shortage of volunteers to assist. Despite that, our committee members do much good work. After all the work is done, those who were previously “too tired” to help, often receive a burst of energy, and direct venomous criticism at those colleagues who did make the effort. Ian has been rather inactive on the ME front, until yesterday. But now he’s in line for a black belt - as an armchair critic.

Jo Calder,
Administrator,
NI MEA