Beth Dobbin urges Prime Minister Andy Burnham to increase ME research funding

On Friday former British sprinter Beth Dobbin wrote to Prime Minister Andy Burnham calling for more research funding after revealing she has been diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis and now spends 22 hours a day in bed.

"It feels like you're days away from death" - Beth Dobbin

Dobbin, 32, who raced at the Tokyo Olympics five years ago, disclosed her diagnosis in an interview with BBC Sport and said she had left the house on just five occasions this year. ME, the condition she described, is a chronic, fluctuating disease that can cause sleep problems, problems with thinking and memory, pain and severe, persistent fatigue that does not improve with rest and has no known cure or specific treatment. More than 400,000 people in the UK are thought to have ME, though the article notes the true figure could exceed one million, and severity ranges from those able to work or study to patients needing round-the-clock care and tube feeding.

In her letter to Burnham Dobbin wrote: "ME has been neglected and psychologicalised for years. It has received so little government funding for research over the years compared to other illnesses. As a consequence, there are no approved treatments. There are also currently no provisions within the NHS for severe ME patients (25% of those with ME). What other illness this prevalent would leave patients with nowhere to go within the NHS, or no specialists other than to seek private care?"

Dobbin described the impact of the illness on daily life, saying she is bedbound for 22 hours a day and chose to give the BBC Sport interview despite knowing it might provoke a substantial deterioration in her health. The article states ME patients often rely on off-label medication and that the condition can produce more than 200 symptoms, including nausea, headaches, poor cognitive function and brain fog. It adds that a conversation, or sensory triggers such as bright light or loud sound, can precipitate a "crash" lasting 24, 48 hours, or in worst cases months on end.

Addressing government priorities, Dobbin wrote: "Your government has said it wants to bring down the welfare bill," and added: "To get the welfare bill down, I believe you need to fund research into this spiralling illness and help us all get our lives back." Since becoming prime minister in July, Burnham has vowed to reduce the UK's welfare bill, and spending on benefits is forecast to rise to £408.6bn in 2030-31, according to figures from the Department for Work and Pensions.

Between April 2019 and March 2024 the UK government invested around £6.5 million in research into ME. The article also records that earlier this year, when Sir Keir Starmer was prime minister, the government announced an investment of £4.75 million into a world-first genomics study into the condition.

BBC Sport has contacted No 10 for comment.